Interspecies Awkwardness
by n7gvlvr
Summary: The war is over and all Jane and Garrus Vakarian want is to live the rest of their lives peacefully, but fate has other ideas for them. Follow Garrus and Jane as they navigate the trials and tribulations of becoming parents while dodging bullets and politicians. Enjoy! (Mostly T but M in a few chapters)
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: This started as a one-shot. A silly little drabble. But it became something more. This first chapter is that one shot. Enjoy!

* * *

He was in a standoff with the woman he loved. A standoff. How did he end up in these sorts of situations?

"No!" Jane snarled.

"Jane," He sighed. "No isn't an option. Don't make me repeat last week."

"No, please?" She asked, sweetly.

Garrus gave her a blank stare, so glad she couldn't hear his subharmonics. If she could, she'd realize just how close he was to giving in to her.

"I hate it!" She whined. "It always makes me sad. You don't want to make me sad, do you?"

"Really, Jane, you're going to pout and whine? I thought you were better than that," Garrus goaded. "Are you the same woman I knew a year ago? Is this the woman who united the galaxy, destroyed the reapers, and lived to tell about it?"

"No! Of course I'm not the same woman! Now I'm fat!" Jane crossed her arms over her chest, resting them on her protruding stomach as her bottom lip popped out into an overly dramatic pout.

"I'm fat, and puffy, and tired, and grumpy. And that thing," She pointed to the scale on the floor for emphasis. "Makes me sad. It has one job, to depress me, and it does it wonderfully."

"It's only job is to tell me how much you weigh so I can relay the information to the doctor in London," Garrus reminded her. "You're the one who's letting it get you upset. It's just an object, love."

"A mean object. A horrible object."

Garrus took a step closer to Jane as she pouted.

"I already know what it's going to say," She whispered. "It's going to say F-A-T. It's at that point, beyond its limit, so it's going to stop giving you a number and just say fat."

Garrus snorted at that logic. The scale could measure a krogan's weight; there was no way it was topped out.

"C'mon Jane, if you don't want to know what it says, then get on it backwards. I'll read the number and send it off to the doctor and you won't ever have to know."

"Oh-ho-ho, but I already know. You seem to think this child has made me stupid, Garrus. I can see the changes; my pants don't fit—again! Last week, I could see the tips of my toes, this week, they're gone. My feet are gone, swallowed up by this…this…THIS." She dissolved into a fit of flailing hands as she motioned to her stomach.

Garrus reached out, wrapping his three fingered hands around her five fingered ones, slowly lowering their joined hands to her stomach. Gently, he caressed her stomach, feeling the child inside move and kick against his palm.

"Shh, shh," He hushed her as he pulled her close. She rested against him, reaching up to nuzzle his neck. "Okay, Jane, okay, no scale."

"Promise?" She whispered against his neck, her warm breath tickling the sensitive skin between his plates.

"You know I can't make that promise," He rubbed his mandible against the top of her head. "We have to do this eventually. But right now, I promise, no scale. Later, scale, but right now, no scale."

She huffed against him, nuzzling his neck again as she tried to move closer to him before she let out a snarl that would make any turian woman proud and shoved away.

"See! Fat! I can't even hug you! He's in the way," She poked her stomach.

"Hey!" Garrus grabbed her hand. "Gentle, woman!"

"Oh, he's fine. He kicks me all night and day; I'm allowed a little retaliation."

Garrus watched as Jane rubbed her hand against her stomach right where she'd poked, almost soothingly, as though she were apologizing for the abuse. She may talk tough, but she didn't mean a single word that came out of her mouth.

He watched as she turned and left the bathroom, walking into their bedroom and over to the dresser.

Damn, she was beautiful pregnant.

She paused in the process of pulling a tank top over her head and looked down at her stomach.

"Live it up, big guy," She whispered. "Because once you're evicted from there, you don't get to kick me."

Garrus bit his tongue to keep the chuckle that was burning his throat from escaping. He wasn't going to ruin a perfect moment between his wife and unborn son by letting her know he was eavesdropping—even if it wasn't fully intentional.

Smiling to himself, he walked into their bedroom and over to where Jane was digging in a dresser drawer. He waited until she stood up to wrap his arms around her from behind, cupping her stomach.

"Have I told you how absolutely gorgeous you are recently?" He asked, bending down to nip at her neck.

"Not in at least an hour," She leaned back against his chest, moaning softly as he licked her neck.


	2. Chapter 2

He watched her as she slept. Her chest rising and falling slowly, her face relaxed, the ever persistent wrinkle between her eyebrows finally gone, the whole picture made him smile. It was crazy to think there was a time when he'd been afraid to imagine this future, where he wondered if she'd wake up, if she would survive to take the next breath. But she was a fighter, his Jane, the physical embodiment of good in his life.

He wanted to run his fingers through her hair, but knew that she would wake the moment he snagged in the ever present tangles caused by having curls like hers. Instead, he settled for running his hand over her hair, brushing it back from her face and across his chest, where her head was propped.

Sleeping had become a problem for her as the pregnancy progressed. She was so tiny that she had started showing only weeks after they confirmed the positive test and a few weeks after that brought on the discomfort. At first, she'd been able to sleep if she had a body pillow, and that had worked all the way to the beginning of the third trimester, but then the baby started putting on weight and the body pillow just wasn't support enough.

Garrus had worried, fretted some would even say—though never to his face, when he started noticing she wasn't sleeping well. He'd read every book and article and watched every vid that was available in regards to human pregnancy, and one thing that had been stressed in every single piece of information was that the expectant mother needed her sleep. Naps were to be expected, and it was just easier not to fight the need for extra sleep—after all she was nourishing a child as well as herself now. So, when the pillow failed to help, he started brainstorming new ideas. And that is how they ended up where they were now.

Jane had mentioned that the pain in her hips and back was less if she was propped up, and she'd begun to grab cat naps in the chair in the living room, but Garrus refused to have her sleeping in that chair every night. That just wasn't going to happen. So she'd tried to prop herself up against the headboard, piling pillows against it and around herself, but that was uncomfortable as well and she would just end up slipping down the bed until she was laying flat again. She needed something that was supportive and would hold her body in the position she needed even after she fell asleep. She needed something firmer than her pillows, and tall enough that she wouldn't be leaning at a weird angle.

That's where Garrus came in.

And that's how he found himself propped up against their headboard—thankfully they'd gone for the goofy looking padded one when they picked out their bedroom furniture—at least twice a day plus all night, his arms wrapped around the woman he loved, his hands curled under her stomach, supporting the weight of their unborn child to relieve the stress on her hips and lower back. As weird as it seemed, and to use her words exactly, he was "just right". He gave her the support she needed, and with a small pillow pressed between her cheek and his chest, she was able to sleep without tossing or turning or waking up in more pain than she'd gone to bed in.

But because turians didn't need a lot of sleep, only a few hours every night, he found himself with a lot of free time. A lot of time to get lost in his head, lost in his thoughts. Usually that meant he spent hours petting her stomach while trying to chase the memory of finding her buried in the rubble of the Citadel, so close to death he swore the Grim Reaper was stalking his every step as he carried her back to the shuttle. That black angel succeeded in snatching her a few times, too, but luckily Drs. Chakwas and Michel along with Miranda were able to bring her back.

It was bad enough he'd lived the hours that turned into days and then into months, he didn't need to be reliving them when she was well and in his arms.

But today was different. Today, his thoughts took another direction and decided to revisit a conversation they'd had about a year ago. He smiled, tucking the blankets around her shoulders, as he let himself fall into the memories, his hand slipping under the covers to rub small circles against her stomach.

_ Garrus sat on the couch in the loft, his feet propped up on the coffee table as he perused the extranet for more information. It had been six months since he and Jane had been married, and had decided that they wanted to pursue the idea of having a child, and while he knew that sometimes it just took time to conceive, he was getting antsy. He liked the idea of her pregnant; he liked the picture he had in his head of her with a baby in her arms, at her breast, on her hip. And he wanted it to be reality sooner rather than later. _

_ So he'd started researching, quietly, in his spare time, and he didn't say a word to her about it. She had this strange notion that if they over thought the whole process that they'd have more trouble. As far as she was concerned, if they conceived, great, if not, well it was always fun trying and they'd just keep trying._

_ This whole concept of not stopping it from happening but not doing anything specific to help the process along was driving him nutty. He had no idea what could be done to help the process—it seemed pretty straight forward to him—but apparently he was wrong since every 28 days, like clockwork, her menstrual cycle started up. And every time it did, he saw that defeated look on her face. It only lasted for a moment, and then she'd smile and make a comment about "maybe next month" or "sometimes it takes a while if the woman's been on contraceptives". _

_ Or, sometimes, the DNA you were trying to mesh together just wasn't compatible. It was like trying to glue a Krogan to a Salarian, and as much as she didn't want to believe it, Garrus knew the truth._

_ Turians and humans couldn't make a baby. _

_ There were turian and human couples, but there were no turian-human hybrid babies. Not one single turian-human baby existed. There were documented cases of the woman getting pregnant, but she always miscarried. Once, the woman had made it to the point of "viability" when she went into labor. The baby was stillborn, and from the reports he'd been able to hack into, even if it had been born alive, it would've died very soon after. The end of the doctor's report on that child had been what turned the tide for Garrus. It had said:_

_**Turian-human DNA incompatible. Even after in-vitro fertilization and constant supervision of pregnancy, along with dextro-nutrients supplied to fetus via IV, fetus was non-viable—suggested adoption. **_

_ He wasn't opposed to adoption, but he had no idea how Jane felt about the idea. She was very excited about being pregnant; she wanted to experience pregnancy. She wanted to feel the baby moving inside her, she wanted to go through the whole experience, from positive test to labor and delivery. And, if he was being honest with himself, he wanted to go along with her. _

_ Which brought him right back to searching the extranet—if he couldn't give her a baby by obvious means, he'd find another way for her to experience the whole thing, and he was pretty sure he'd found the solution. He just had to figure out how to bring it up to her. _

_ As though she knew he wanted to speak with her, the doors to the loft opened with a swish and she came walking in. Her hair was already out of its hair tie, the curls cascading around her shoulders, and she was in the process of taking off the jacket to her BDUs before she reached the stairs down to the bedroom area. _

_ "Hey, you," She smiled at him as she tossed her jacket toward the laundry basket and missed by a mile—on purpose. She had something against putting her clothing into the hamper, it was cute._

_ The pants followed before she walked over to the wall of built in drawers. She rifled around until she came up with a pair of "yoga pants" and started to pull them on. They hugged her hips and rear, but were loose on her thighs and at least a foot too long, so she was always walking on the hem. But she loved them; she said they made her feel human. _

_ He'd once asked her what she felt like when she wasn't wearing them, if she had to wear them to feel like her own species. She had chuckled before explaining that she knew she was a human, but when she was wearing her BDUs or dress blues or even her armor she was Commander Shepard-Vakarian, Alliance Marine and First Human Spectre. When she put on her yoga pants and tank top, she just felt like Jane, there weren't any titles; she was just Jane Vakarian, his wife. She wasn't the savior of the galaxy, the one who'd destroyed the reapers, she was just herself. That alone endured him to those pants—and he'd bought her at least a dozen more. _

_ "Hey," He returned her greeting. _

_ She walked over to him, a pair of brightly striped socks in her hand and smacked his feet. _

_ "How many times do I have to ask you to not put your feet on the table?" She grumbled half heartedly. _

_ He tried for a sheepish look as he moved his feet from the table to the floor, but she wasn't buying it. She knew why he put them up there—he liked that she fussed about something so domestic. To use her words, it made him feel "human," like they were just husband and wife, like in the old vids, not war heroes. _

_ "What are you doing?" She asked as she motioned to the data pad sitting next to him on the couch. _

_ "Just a little research," He answered truthfully, there was no reason to lie since he planned to bring up what he'd learned anyway. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her off her feet and into him. Her only choice, if she didn't want to fall awkwardly onto him, was to straddle his lap, which she did without question. _

_ "About what…?" She asked as she squirmed against him as she got comfortable._

_ "Oh, you know; the usual. Wanted to see what the media is saying about us, since they still haven't let our marriage go—honestly, we'll be celebrating our anniversary and they'll still be having a hay day," He hedged. He told himself he wasn't putting off talking to her about what he'd found, that he was just enjoying playing with her._

_ "Bull shit, Garrus," Jane shoved his shoulder before she bumped her forehead against his. "You never did have a good poker face."_

_ "Since turians rely on their subharmonics to relay emotions we have very few facial expressions, so that means I have a great poker face. I just have a horrible poker…voice," He teased. _

_ "Poker voice," Jane threw her head back and laughed. "I like that one."_

_ He leaned forward, nuzzling against her collar bone since it was wide open with her head back. _

_ "I love hearing you laugh," He sighed into her skin. "Hell, I love hearing you yell, and whisper, and snarl, the only noise you make that I don't love—would even say I hate—is that soft whimper you make when you're sad."_

_ "I don't whimper," Jane straightened up, pulling back from him slightly and tipping her head to the side as she looked down at him._

_ "Yes, you do," His voice dropped a bit, getting gravelly. Even without being able to hear his subharmonics she had to know he was feeling some strong emotions. "Every month, you let out this little whimper, then sigh and say "maybe next month". Believe me, I know. I see this happen every month."_

_ They stared at each other for a moment. She was trying to figure out where he was going and why he'd brought that up while he just took in her expression—equal parts bewilderment and confusion. _

_ "You have a point to such an astute observation, Garrus?" She finally asked._

_ "Yes." _

_ He picked her up by the waist, turning her in his lap so she was sitting sideways instead of straddling him before reaching for the data pad. _

_ "First, for the record, I wasn't lying when I said I was looking into what the media was saying about us. I just didn't spend as much time on that—I really don't give a damn, mostly. If that reporter from Westerlund News doesn't stop with her smear campaign against the Turian species, though, I might find myself spending more time on this, but for now it's really not that important." He stopped himself when he realized he was bordering on a rant he'd already had more than one time. _

_ "Uh-huh," Jane hummed. _

_ She reached for the data pad, trying to take it from him, but he held it over her head. He'd tell her what he'd been looking at, but in his own time, and in his own way, and she could damn well wait._

_ "Second," He went on as though she wasn't trying to climb him to get to the data pad. "I started looking into turian-human reproduction rates. Specifically, I wanted to know how many turian-human babies existed in this galaxy."_

_ "None," Jane whispered as she went still, her hands withdrawing from their attempt to get the data pad from him._

_ He nodded slowly. _

_ "…Turian-human DNA incompatible…fetus non-viable," Jane whispered, burrowing her nose against his neck. _

_ "I hacked your personal extranet account," She confessed, her voice strangled. _

_ He felt her body jerk and heard the sob catch in her throat at the same time and dropped the data pad, not caring that it fell behind the couch as he rushed to wrap his arms around her. He held her as she cried, rubbing her back, stroking her hair, and murmuring to her that it would be alright, that there were other options. _

_ He wasn't sure how long they sat there, five minutes or five hours, it really didn't matter to him. Every tear she shed killed him a little. He'd let her down. He'd let _them_ down. But he was going to fix it. Maybe it wouldn't be a turian-human baby in her womb, but dammit, she was going to get to experience motherhood._

_ After a while, she quieted, her sobs turning into hiccups and then finally soft sniffles. She sat up; wiping her arm against her eyes before reaching for the box of tissues they had in the center of the coffee table. She blew her nose before grabbing a clean tissue and trying to dry him off, but he stopped her, taking her hand in his._

_ "Don't worry about it." _

_ He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, trying to plan what he was going to say next. He wanted it to come out right. He wanted her to accept it. _

_ "There are other options," He tried to put some optimism into his voice, a very difficult feat when one's subharmonics were screaming grief, but for her he could do just about anything._

_ "Adoption," She nodded as she said it._

_ "Yes," He agreed. "Adoption is one option."_

_ "It's really the only option," She countered._

_ "No," This time he shook his head for emphasis. He reached to his side, patting his hand across the couch cushion looking for the data pad, only to remember dropping it when she'd broken down. _

_ "Dammit!" He growled. "You're going to have to get up for a second. I have to get my data pad from behind the couch."_

_ He'd spent a lot of time working out the details, he had everything on that data pad, and it bothered him that he didn't have it now. He wanted to be able to back up what he said, he wanted to be able to show her what he'd found._

_ She giggled, but didn't get off his lap, so he wrapped his hands around her waist and started to lift her, but she stopped him with a hand on the side of his face._

_ "Garrus," She smiled as she said his name and he froze completely. "I hacked your account, remember?"_

_ "In the last hour?"_

_ "Well, no, last night while you were working in the main battery," She explained._

_ "Then you don't know what I found."_

_ He picked her up and set her on the couch next to him before turning to kneel on the couch and reach behind it. Thankfully, he could reach the data pad; it hadn't slid under the couch so he wouldn't have to move the heavy piece of furniture to get it back._

_ "Got it," He exclaimed as he turned back around brandishing the pad like it was his prized rifle. He opened the first page, handing it to her. _

_ He sat quietly as she read over everything he'd compiled. He watched her eyes twitch from left to right, anxiously waiting for her to finish and say something. It felt like an eternity, but then she dropped her hands, still holding the data pad, into her lap and looked up at him. There were tears in her eyes again, and cursed himself for causing them._

_ "You'd be okay with this?" Her voice was pinched with the strain of holding tears back._

_ "I don't want you to miss out on something you've wanted for so long just because nature doesn't want to cooperate with us," He answered her honestly. _

_ He wasn't expecting her to launch herself at him, wrapping her arms around him before pressing her lips to his in a passionate kiss. He was just relaxing into the kiss when he felt her tears fall against his face, causing him to pull back quickly._

_ "Jane! What's wrong?"_

_ "Nothing," She smiled, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "They're happy tears, Garrus. I can't believe you'd be okay with something like in vitro or artificial insemination."_

_ "Jane," He reached up, running his fingers into her hair as he cupped her head, looking into her eyes. "I love you. If you said you wanted it, I'd go out into space and capture a star for you. So, yes, I'm okay with this. Though, I do have one condition."_

_ She quirked an eye brow at him as she sat back up, letting him sit up as well. _

_ "I think the donor should be someone on the crew. Everyone here is family to us, it only seems right that we chose someone we know, that we care about, and that, hopefully, cares about us to help with this adventure."_

_ "Have anyone in mind?" She asked, her smile growing._

_ "Maybe…" His mandibles flared into the turian version of a smile before he leaned back toward Jane and pressed his forehead to hers. "But we can talk about that later." _


	3. Chapter 3

"Why are baby socks so small?" Jane grumbled as she threw the socks she'd finished pairing into the basket. "And why are there so many?"

Jane sat on the floor in the living room of their home trying to fold tiny pieces of baby clothing. She'd started out sitting on the couch, with the basket of freshly cleaned onesies, footie pajamas, and tiny socks between her legs, but quickly realized that wasn't going to work. Every time she bent forward to reach for another piece of clothing, the baby squished her lungs and made it difficult to breath. She was sure her face was turning blue every time she tried to find a matching pair of socks.

This was the fifth load of baby clothing she'd washed this week. And she and Garrus hadn't purchased a single piece of it. The gifts had started pouring in two weeks after they had finally gone public with her pregnancy. It was crazy to Jane that complete strangers felt the need to go out and purchase something for their unborn child.

But if she was being honest, the brunt of the clothing hadn't come from her 'adoring fans' as Garrus liked to call them—right up until she reminded him that they were also _his_ adoring fans. She chuckled as she thought back to the fan mail he'd been receiving lately. She never knew a turian could turn the colors he did. The majority of the small bits she was folding had come in one overly large package, hand delivered to their front door by EDI herself. The whole crew of the _Normandy_ had pitched in and purchased enough clothing, toys, bedding, and diapers to last until the child reached college.

Thinking about the day EDI had come to visit, her first trip away from the ship since Tali had reactivated her body, made Jane smile and tear up. She reached for a tissue from the box that she'd started carrying around with her as though it was her side arm—which she also had with her at all times because not all of the mail they received was approving, after all—and wiped her eyes.

Jane remembered feeling pretty down on that particular day. She couldn't remember why, but she did remember that she'd been sitting alone at the kitchen table, fiddling with the spoon in her cup of tea when there was a knock at the door.

She had almost tackled EDI when she found the AI standing on the front stoop, a large box in her arms.

"Commander, are you troubled. Your serotonin levels are low."

"I'm fine EDI; just a little blue is all," Jane waved EDI's worries away, especially since she could feel her mood shifting now that she had company.

"Jeff assures me that this is a joyous time in a woman's life. He also stated that the giving of gifts is tradition."

The clothing, of course, wasn't the only thing that EDI was delivering. She also had a present for Jane. Something she had procured on that fateful day so many months before. It was a picture of the baby's biological father when he heard the news that he'd been chosen as the donor.

Jane had, of course, framed the picture—even though the picture's subject had objected, rather loudly—and it was sitting on the side table in the living room. Looking at the picture now, Jane thought back to that day, and why she had been standing in the mess hall, watching EDI fish a name out of Garrus' helmet.

_"Joker?" Garrus asked as he returned to the couch, a cup of turian tea in his hand. _

_ "I don't know," Jane shrugged. "What about Vrolick's?" _

_ Garrus sat quietly next to her, contemplating that little bit of information as he blew on his tea. _

_ "What about it?" He finally asked. _

_ "Well, I mean, do we want to take the chance of him passing it on?" Jane wasn't trying to be mean, she would love Joker to be the donor for their first child, but she also had to be practical. He had a very debilitating disease, and there was no way to know if their child would also have the disease._

_ Garrus tilted his head in a half nod-half shake as he took a sip of his drink._

_ "I see your point, but I don't feel it's significant. If we had a baby, one that was you and me, who know what we'd be dealing with if the child survived, so I don't think it's fair to remove him from the options just because he might pass on brittle bone disease," Garrus explained._

_ Jane nodded her agreement before looking back at the data pad in her hand. _

_ "Okay, so Joker is a possible option. Cortez?" She went down the list of crew members who'd offered to assist them in their child bearing endeavor._

_ "Ehh," Garrus hedged. _

_ "What's wrong with Cortez?" Jane asked._

_ "He's brown," Garrus said. It was said so matter-of-factly that Jane almost fell out of her chair. _

_ "Oh, my God, you did not just say that, did you?" Jane stared at her husband, her jaw slack._

_ "I just said something horribly inappropriate, didn't I?"_

_ "Horrendously offensive," Jane shook her head, slightly amused by the way Garrus was squirming._

_ "Ugh!" Garrus growled, setting his tea down on a coaster on the coffee table then turning to her. "I didn't mean it _that_ way." _

_ "There aren't a lot of ways you can mean what you said," Jane pointed out._

_ "Okay, Jane, forgive every horribly offensive thing I'm going to say right now, because if what I said before was offensive, I'm about to become horrific," Garrus sighed._

_ "Just explain yourself, Garrus," Jane finally let the smile tugging at her lips out._

_ "It's just, you're so pale, not sickly pale, but that beautiful porcelain color. Like those little dolls that we sometimes see in the shop windows." He stopped there to reach out and brush the back of one of his fingers along her jaw before dropping his hand back to his lap and continuing. "And he's so dark. I can't figure out how that would work, which would be dominant? Would the baby be dark like him or pale like you? And I feel that—no, I want, one of our children to look like you," Garrus stopped for a second, looking down at his hands which were knotted together in his lap. "I'm not making this better, am I?"_

_ Jane laid a hand on his scarred mandible, gently tilting his head back up so he was looking at her._

_ "So, your only real issue is that you're not sure what the baby would look like?" She asked._

_ "I guess, yeah," Garrus mumbled. "Would she have your green eyes and bright hair, because I really think she should have your beauty."_

_ "Okay, I see your point, but you probably shouldn't mention any of this to Cortez," She conceded. What he said was very offensive, but human societal norms were still new to him and it wasn't fair for her to expect him to know every single detail of human history—like slavery or segregation and how badly Africans were hurt because of them. _

_ What he'd said had probably made a lot of sense to him. He was thinking biology, not culture. And Jane was sure that when it came to turian culture and norms that she was probably no better at navigating the land mines waiting for her. _

_ "The baby would probably be more the color of my coffee in the morning," She mentioned as she turned away from him to look back at her data pad. "Though, I'm sure if you did a little research you could find pictures to show you."_

_ "I hadn't even thought of that." _

_ "Next contestant: Donnelly?" _

_ "Okay," Garrus agreed right away._

_ "Okay," Jane agreed. Donnelly would be a good donor. Garrus would get his fair skinned baby—weird that he'd cling to that as a sticking point—and they could stop picking apart their best friends._

_ Or so she thought until a few hours later when Garrus nudged her just as she was dozing off._

_ "Do you think the crew will think we're playing favorites?" Garrus asked._

_ "Huh?" Jane was trying hard to cling to the floating feeling she had as she fell asleep, she was exhausted after a day of paperwork and mundane every day details which had been topped off by having to pick apart the males of her crew to decide on a sperm donor. All she wanted was to sleep._

_ "Do you think that the others, like Cortez and Joker, will think we are playing favorites? That we didn't choose Joker because of Vrolick's, or Cortez because of his skin color?" _

_ "But isn't that what we did?" Jane gave up on sleeping and rolled onto her back before sitting up. She adjusted the pillow behind her so she was supported._

_ "I guess," Garrus sighed, his shoulders slumping in on themselves. "It just doesn't feel right."_

_ Jane thought for a moment before she said, "No, it really doesn't."_

_ "I mean, if this wasn't a donor situation, we'd get whatever we got, we wouldn't get to pick and choose," Jane went on to explain. _

_ "We'd just be surprised when the baby was born," Garrus added. _

_ "Exactly, but how do we get that when we're picking someone to be our donor?" She asked out loud. She crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her finger against her chin as she thought._

_ "I've got it!" That big turian grin popped up on his face just before laid back down on his side of the bed._

_ "Well," Jane nudged him with her foot. "Are you going to share with the room?"_

_ "Tomorrow," Garrus pulled her down, wrapping his arms around her. "All will be explained tomorrow."_

_ "You are odd," Jane murmured as she felt herself drift off._

_ The next morning she woke up alone. Weird, Garrus wasn't an early riser, what was this all about? Shrugging, she crawled out of bed and made her way to the shower. Exiting the bathroom some time later, she sat down at her desk to check her emails._

Jane,

I'm sorry you woke up alone, but I had to run out early. Meet me in the mess hall for breakfast, please?

Love,

G.

_ That was a man of many words right there, she thought with a chuckle as she moved the email out of her general mailbox and into a personal folder. She got up from the chair and finished getting ready for the day. She was curious about what pulled him out of their bed before she woke, and decided an early breakfast wouldn't be a bad idea._

_ As she exited the elevator on the crew deck she heard hushed whispers coming from the mess hall. _

_ "Shhh!" Traynor hissed. "EDI said she's on her way!" _

_ What are they up to, Jane wondered as she turned the corner and walked into the mess hall. Her eyes went straight to Garrus, who was wandering around the room, his helmet in his hand. As he passed the male members of the crew, some were dropping slips of paper into the piece of armor. _

_ "What is going on here?" Jane asked._

_ "A little more spontaneity, a little less over thinking," Garrus explained as he came over to her, his helmet held in one hand._

_ "Has everyone who wants in on this little adventure tossed their name in?" He asked to the room._

_ She looked over the crew; they all seemed to be nodding. _

_ "C'mon!" Jack shouted from her perch on the kitchen cabinet. "Stop fucking around and pick out your baby daddy, already!"_

_ "Oh, no, we're not doing the picking," Garrus explained. "EDI?"_

_ "Yes, Garrus?" The AI stood up from where she'd been sitting next to Joker. _

_ "Would you do the honors?" Garrus held the helmet up, making EDI reach above her head to dip her hand inside and pull out a slip of folded paper. _

_ "Shall I read it?" EDI asked. She hadn't opened the paper yet._

_ "What do you think, Jane, should EDI announce who's helping us out?" Garrus wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close._

_ "I don't know, if we're getting the whole crew involved in this, I think someone else should get to make the announcement," Shepard chuckled as she looked out at the people who'd become closer than any other family she'd ever had. _

_ "JACK!" She pulled out her commander voice as she spoke over the hushed conversations between crew members. "Get your ass over here!"_

_ "Jesus, woman," Jack hopped off the counter. "Make me jump out of my skin why don't you."_

_ Jane gestured to Jack and EDI handed the slip of paper over to the biotic._

_ Jack took the paper, walking away from Jane, Garrus, and the crowd that was in the mess hall; she headed toward the main battery and Garrus pulled up his omni-tool, quickly locking the door before she could get to it._

_ "Paranoid space dragon," Jack grumbled as she turned, leaning her back against the door. She was as far from anyone as she could be and there was no way anyone could look over her shoulder before she made the announcement, which, Jane realized, was what she wanted._

_ "Holy shit!" Jack barked as she opened the paper and read the name. She started to chuckle, then laugh, her arms wrapping around her middle as she bent over, gasping for air because of how hard she was laughing._

_ "Now I'm worried," Garrus whispered into Jane's ear._

_ "You and me both," Jane agreed._

_ "Well," Joker spoke up. "Are you going to share what's so funny?"_

_ Jack took a few deep breaths as she tried to get her laughter under control. Once she was able to, she walked back down the ramp to the stairs before turning the slip of paper around, showing the room the name. _

_**J. Vega**_

_ "Congrats, Lieutenant Commander!" Jack snickered. "You're going to be a daddy!"_


	4. Chapter 4

"I won't stand for it!" James Vega heard Commander Shepard—no wait, she'd changed her name, it was Vakarian now—scream. He was walking toward his former Commander's house, a grocery sack cradled in one arm and his duffle bag slung over the other shoulder.

_Yikes!_ James thought. He knew she wouldn't take this well, he'd told Scars she wouldn't like this, but the turian had been sure he could calm his wife, could make her see reason. From what he heard, Garrus wasn't having as much luck as he'd expected.

There was another shriek, followed by the sound of something breaking as he finally got to the front door. Should he knock or just walk in? He had the code to unlock the door, but he wasn't sure if he should. Deciding he didn't want something breakable and possibly expensive thrown at his head, he knocked.

He set down his duffle, raising his fist to the door and pounding on it a few times then leaned back against the railing that ran around the front patio to wait for someone to answer the door. If no one came to open it in a few minutes, he'd use the code he'd been given and let himself in.

"Vega," Garrus said in greeting as the door was opened.

"Hey, Scars," Vega straightened up from the railing and grabbed his duffle bag. "How's life?"

The look that Garrus gave him would've had a lesser man cowering, but James wasn't afraid. Garrus Vakarian may be a lot of things, and right now he was pissed, but he wouldn't take it out on an innocent bystander, and especially not a friend.

"Just get in here," Garrus grumbled as he turned and walked back into the house. "Did you bring what I asked for?"

"Got it all here," Vega held up the bags in his hands.

"So, what's up with Lola?" Vega changed the subject.

"She's angry that I had Liara scanning our mail and weeding out the worst of the threats," Garrus explained. "I just didn't want Jane seeing them. She doesn't need that stress, not right now."

"So, it has nothing to do with my being stationed here?"

"Oh, no, she's mad about that, too. She's calling Hackett right now, as a matter of fact, to get you sent back to the _Normandy_," Garrus chuckled.

"It's not going to happen," Vega said. "Hackett is taking those death threats seriously and he doesn't want you two alone anymore. She should be grateful, if he'd had his way, there'd be a whole platoon camping on your front lawn. The Doc and I were able to talk him down to me for now, and as we get closer to the big day, a few others will be coming to visit."

They were now standing in the living room and could hear her raised voice coming from down the hall.

"Admiral," She sighed, making an obvious attempt to quell her anger. "I understand where you're coming from, but this isn't necessary. We can take care of ourselves."

"This is non-negotiable, Jane," Hackett responded. "I'm sorry you're unhappy with this, but you'll just have to deal with it. Nothing you say is going to change my mind."

There was a pause; one the men in the other room could only assume was Jane glaring at the Admiral while trying to formulate a response.

"I'd make it an order, but since your resignation I'm no longer able to do that. So, I'll just say this, you're the closest thing I have to a daughter, Jane, and I don't want to see anything happen to you or that child," Hackett's voice softened.

"Aw! Damn it, Admiral," Jane cursed softly. "That's not fair, playing on the emotions of a pregnant woman."

"All's fair in love and war," Hackett retorted. "Seriously, though, you've done enough for this galaxy, you deserve this happiness, and you shouldn't have to fight anymore for it. Let us take care of you this time."

"I still don't like this," Jane grumbled.

"You don't have to like it," Hackett reminded her. "Now, I have to go, Jane. I'll check soon."

"Bye, Admiral."

"Why didn't that work for me?" Garrus grumbled as he took the grocery bag from Vega and headed for the kitchen. "Your room is the second door on the left."

"Thanks, Scars," Vega called out as he headed down the hall way.

Their house wasn't huge by any standards, though it wasn't exactly a shoebox either. They'd gone for something in the middle, something 'normal' as they described it. With their fame, they could've been in a castle. But they were tired of being seen as war heroes, as larger than life figures. And he couldn't blame them for it. They'd both given a lot to save the galaxy; they'd basically had the spotlight on them for years, ever since the Commander had been appointed as the first human Spectre.

He remembered the vids from that day. And looking back, he couldn't help but chuckle. As she'd been sworn in as a Spectre, the Council sounding haughty as they explained what the position was, standing behind and to the right of her was Scars. Though at that time, he didn't have any scars, but that didn't really change anything. He'd been there, with her from the very beginning. And he'd help her take down Saren and Sovereign.

When she'd been spaced during the Collector attack on the _Normandy_ no one denied that it was Vakarian who took it the hardest. He'd stayed around for her funeral. He'd stood at that podium to say a few words, the other turians in the room gasping as he spoke about the woman he'd followed into hell. One of those turians happened to be a now close friend of Vega's. A few nights ago he and Vega had gotten a little tipsy and Vega had asked why the turians at Shepard's funeral had been so disturbed, so shocked by what Garrus said. His speech wasn't fancy, wasn't spectacular by any means. He spoke about her person, her quirkiness, the way she never let anything get her down. Even when no one else believed her, she'd fought to save them.

_"His subharmonics," The turian had explained to Vega. "Sure his words were neutral, but for every turian in the room we knew the truth. He mourned the loss of more than just a good friend. I don't know if they were involved at that time, but he was mourning the loss of a mate."_

_ "Sub-what?" Vega had asked._

_ "Subharmonics. Turians have two sets of vocal cords. One you can hear—obviously or we'd never be able to communicate with you—the other is at a frequency human ears can't hear. Truthfully, there isn't another species who can hear it," he explained._

_ "Yeah, like right now, Callus is exasperated with all your questions," another turian spoke up._

_ "I just want to understand," Vega explained, a blush crawling up his neck. _

_ "I'm not exasperated; it's just hard to explain. I'm trying to find the best way to explain it. We don't cry, we don't have a lot of facial expressions, our subharmonics are how we express our emotions," Callus said. _

Vega shook himself out of the memory of that night and back to the present.

Fact was Scars and Shepard had been together from day one. She'd picked him up off the ground when he fell, and vice versa.

He'd heard the stories of his scars. Gabby and Ken weren't afraid to talk about the day Shepard had come back on the ship with a badly bleeding turian on a stretcher. She had his hand in hers, tears streaming down her face as she spoke to him, even though he was unconscious.

_"Don't you dare die on me!" Gabby would say in an impression of Shepard. "You're all I have in this blasted galaxy! Don't you dare die!"_

_ Donnelly would cut in, explaining that it had taken three people to tear Shepard away from Vakarian so Dr. Chakwas could look him over._

_ "I did not come back from the dead just so you could leave me! You better not kick now, Vakarian! That's an order!" Gabby said doing her Shepard impersonation, again. _

_ "And then she just collapsed. Right there, in the middle of the shuttle bay, it was like everything drained out of her as she watched the elevator doors close. She crumpled to the ground, bent over with her forehead against the floor, blue blood covering her chest and face and hands as she pounded a fist against the floor. She'd sat like that for maybe a minute, just breathing. And then she'd screamed," Gabby wasn't impersonating Shepard anymore. She had this haunted look on her face. "I can't even explain the scream. It sent a chill down my spine. It was like her soul was dying."_

_ "And then she'd picked herself up from the floor, shoved the men who were trying to help her up away, walked to the elevator, and went to the loft," Ken added._

Vega finished his walk down the hall as he thought back on that conversation with the engineers. He reached for the door to his room, tapping the console to open it. He looked around at the furnishings; a queen size bed was set up under the one window in the room, to the left of the bed was a low dresser, about 9 feet wide with six drawers in it. To the right of the bed was a closet, its doors still open. There were a few pieces of clothing hanging in the closet still and he wondered if they'd been using it to store their own clothing but had removed them for him.

The walls were a light blue color, and the carpet was grey. It was simple, but homey. He set his duffle bag down on the bed and started to unpack.

There was a knock at the door frame and when he looked up he smiled.

"Hey Lola!" He walked over, his arms out for a hug.

"Hey Vega," She chuckled as she wrapped her arms around him. She shifted her body to the side so the baby wouldn't get in the way.

"How are you?" He asked as he let go of her, he lowered his hand to her stomach, stopping a breath from touching her. "Can I?"

"Sure," She said.

He set his hand against her. Her stomach was so perfectly round it looked like she'd swallowed a beach ball. She was wearing stretch pants and a t-shirt. The shirt was stretched taut over her belly.

The baby kicked his hand and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"He's strong," Vega smiled.

"Yeah, he likes beating on me as much as you do," Jane joked.

"Have you thought about names?" Vega asked. He knew he should probably bring up why he was suddenly a permanent fixture in their home, but he didn't want to be the reason the smile on her face disappeared. He was sure she would bring it up, eventually, and he was willing to wait until then.

"Yes, I think we've settled on one," She answered. Gesturing toward the bed, she stepped into the room he was staying in. He followed her over to the bed. She had to hop a bit to get up onto the bed. It was easy to forget how small she was because she made up for everything she lacked in personality and tenacity.

"Well, are you going to share?" He prodded.

"Nope," She smiled. "Something about this little man has to be a secret."

"Just don't name him after me," Vega begged. "I mean, I'm honored that I was chosen to help you guys out, but I don't want you to feel like you have to name him after me or something. He's your child, not mine, I know that."

"Just last month you were joking that we should name him after you," Jane said, tilting her head to the side to give him a quizzical look. "What made you change your mind?"

Vega shrugged.

"Just a change of heart, I guess."

And like that, the banter was over between them.

"Okay, well, I just came in to let you know dinner is in about an hour. Garrus got a new grill and has been itching to try it," Jane said as she stood up. "I'll let you unpack. Don't think you have to stay in your room all the time."

He watched her as she left, just then noticing the Locust on her left hip and the Phalanx strapped to her right thigh. She knew about the threats, all of them, if she was packing that sort of heat in her own home.

* * *

"Mmm," Garrus heard from behind him. "Gun mods for dinner. Yum!"

Garrus looked up at his wife as she walked into the room. With a locust on one hip and a phalanx on the other thigh she made even pregnancy look bad assed.

"Vega brought some toys," Garrus explained. "I'm just sorting through them."

He picked up two from the pile and handed them to her. "An extra ammo mod for the Phalanx and some lighter weight parts for that Locust."

"Thanks, sweetie," She said as she took the mods and then set them back down on the counter before she walked around the island. She squeezed between him and the counter and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I want to apologize for blowing up at you earlier," She started, pressing a finger against his lips when he tried to say that it wasn't necessary. "No, no, it really is. I'm emotional and while I _was_ angry, that sort of reaction wasn't necessary. I'm sorry. But, I am still angry that you were hiding something from me."

"I just don't want you stressing over something like this," He spoke against her finger. She gave up trying to quiet him and pulled her finger back. "Liara's the Shadow Broker, there's no reason why she shouldn't be able to find those responsible for these threats. I don't see why you should be worrying about that when she could take care of it."

"Because it's my life, and my choice," Jane explained. "It was a sweet thought, but way too heavy handed. Garrus we're a team, don't bench me because I'm pregnant, not when it's something that affects all three of us."

"I'm sorry," He said as he touched his forehead to hers.

She smiled up at him before pulling away to turn toward the counter covered in mods.

"So, what is all this for?"

"I asked Vega to bring them. If something happens, I want us to be as well prepared as we can be. I know it seems odd, but this is something I understand. Idiots attacking my mate and unborn child, yeah it pisses me off, but at least I know I can protect them, and working out a plan keeps me calm," He said. He looked up in time to catch her eyebrow climbing up to her hair line. "Okay, we can protect ourselves."

"Better. You're learning," Jane teased him. "But couldn't you find somewhere else to play with your guns? We need to eat soon, I told Vega dinner would be in an hour."

"Sure," He nodded. "I'll take these to the basement. Sorry, I didn't think about what time it was."

Garrus grabbed the sack Vega had brought the mods in and swept his arm across the counter, pushing them back into the bag.

"You're grilling tonight," She called as he walked out of the room.

He waved his arm over his head to acknowledge her as he walked away.

* * *

Later that night found the three of them in the living room watching the news.

"Who knew you could cook, Scars," Vega said as he leaned back, his hand on his stomach.

"One of us needed to learn or we were both going to starve. And Jane can't cook dextro food to save her life," Garrus explained. He flinched as Jane smacked his thigh.

"I'm sure I'll get better," She said.

"I don't mind cooking for you, love," Garrus said, leaning in to kiss her neck.

"Whatev…" Jane stopped talking as she started at the projected image in front of them. "Oh that bitch!"

The banter died as all three watched the newscast. Khalisah bint Sinan Al-Jilani was on screen, with a clip of Jane and Garrus playing behind her.

Jane couldn't believe what the woman was saying, what she was accusing her of, what she was claiming Garrus had done to her. She felt her jaw dropping farther and farther as the segment went on.

"As you can see," Al-Jilani said as she gestured to the clip. "This is not the fairy tale relationship that everyone wants us to believe. What is really happening behind the doors of their home? Is Shepard as strong as we believed, or is she just another victim hiding behind a smiling face? And how can she possibly think bringing a baby into this mess will help?"

"How could she?" Jane whispered as Garrus exploded up from the seat next to her. He stormed out of the house through the patio door.

"Is he going to be okay?" Vega asked from her other side.

"Maybe, eventually," Jane answered. "These reports have really been hurting him. I don't know how to stop them, how to fix it."

"I think I'm going to go for a walk," Vega said. He barely tried to hide his intentions as he walked toward the patio door and followed Garrus. Jane let him, too torn up inside from the news segment they'd just seen.

Numbly, she stood up, turned off the omni-tool projector, and then walked toward the kitchen. There were dishes that needed to be cleaned up from dinner and right now it was the only thing she could think to do. She needed to think, she needed to figure out a way to stop that damn bitch from Westerlund news. In a few weeks they'd be bringing a little life into this world, and she refused to let that bitch ruin that joyous day.

* * *

"Hey! Scars!" Vega called as he ran after the turian. "Damn man, slow down!"

"Go back to the house, Vega," Garrus growled as he turned on the human. "You're here to watch Jane when I'm not there, so go do your damn job."

"My job is to watch both of you, and you're the one who's currently wandering the wilderness all bent out of shape and not watching the shadows for someone who might want you dead," Vega pointed out. "So, talk to me."

"About what?" Garrus snarled then started walking again, pacing along the property line.

"Anything, everything," Vega started. "Tell me what married life is like? How's the pregnancy been? Are you having sympathy cravings? I've heard some daddies-to-be suffer from them more than their wives."

Garrus just grunted, and continued his pacing.

"C'mon, Scars, you're not honestly letting that bitch on the TV get to you?" Vega goaded. He knew he was playing with fire, but he'd deal with the consequences later, right now he needed his friend to talk.

"Put yourself in my place," Garrus snarled, pacing right up to Vega and getting in the human's face. "What if that was _you_ on that screen? What if they were accusing _you_ of abusing your wife, of trapping her into your marriage? They can't just let us be! They have to ruin every beautiful moment! I bet that bitch doesn't even know…"

Garrus ran out of steam, his shoulders slumping as he pulled away from Vega.

"Doesn't even know what?"

"What day that was."

"Which is?"

"The day we found out we were having a boy," Garrus moved away from Vega fully, stepping up to the low fence that ran around their property and leaning on it. "That video was recorded as we left the clinic. I'd just seen my son for the first time, watched his heart beat, saw him suck his thumb, he kicked just as the ultrasound technician was taking a picture."

Garrus pulled up his omni-tool, clicking through a few files until he found the one he wanted then turned the holo-screen so James could see it.

"Two perfect little feet," Garrus explained. "All ten toes."

Vega couldn't stop his heart from swelling with pride as he saw the picture, watching the little recording as it played on Garrus' omni-tool. The baby wasn't his, he was just the sperm donor, but that didn't stop him from smiling as he saw the baby moving around. He'd given them a strong child.

"And that witch of a woman took that shot of me guiding Jane through the throngs of cameras and paparazzi, back to our car, and turned it into evidence that I'm abusive? Because I don't have a smile on my face—you know turians don't smile like humans do—I'm angry? Does she even know? Does she even understand?"

"No, she doesn't," Vega said. "She never will, either. She can't hear you. She didn't hear what her camera picked up, what every turian who watched that heard when they watched it. But that doesn't matter, because they know you were happy, you know you were happy, hell it comes through even now. You're pissed at her, but when you pulled up that recording everything changed."

Garrus turned his head, looking at Vega.

"How could you know?"

Vega just smiled as he turned his own head, showing a scar behind his ear.

"It's one of those new implants. I can hear your subharmonics now. Surprised Lola doesn't have one," Vega explained as he ran his finger over the red scar.

"She can't undergo the surgery in her condition," Garrus explained. "Why would you do that?"

"Required for my rank," Vega explained. "Since we'll now be working closely with your military, the Alliance decided it was a good idea that we could understand _everything_ a turian said to us-especially the stuff that they don't say. They're trying it out on those of us in higher ranks first, since we're getting the most exposure to turians right now, but if it works well it'll be something every soldier gets right along with their boots and BDUs when they enter basic. Well, the implant along with a crash course in understanding the different meanings between the sounds. Turians are a lot more complicated than I thought."

Garrus chuckled. "Not nearly as complicated as humans; how many languages do you people have?"

"A lot, and no, I don't know all of them, that's why I have a translator," Vega answered. "But at least we don't say things you can't hear."

"It's just not fair," Garrus turned so his back was to the fence. "We saved the damn galaxy; if it wasn't for the sacrifices everyone on the _Normandy _made that woman wouldn't be alive to spew this shit. And this is the thanks we get? She calls me abusive, assumes I'm emotionally, if not physically, keeping Jane here against her will, she blatantly calls Jane weak willed and mentally ill, and we're just supposed to accept this shit? I can't stand it!"

"No one can," Vega agreed. "And we've been working on it. Her smear campaign isn't going to go on much longer. EDI's been working on some stuff, hacking into Al-Jilani's servers to try and find the original videos before they were edited. And Hackett has a whole team of people, legal egg heads and PR gurus trying to take that bitch down. Her days are numbered."

"She's already done so much damage, though. And what if Hackett does get her taken off the air, someone else is just going to come in and twist that move as a way to prove that the Alliance knows what's going on and that they approve. I don't see how you guys can make this better," Garrus pointed out. "And the damage is already done here. Jane thinks I don't know, but I've seen her crying over these things, I've felt her cry herself to sleep over it. She's lost friends over this."

"Damn," Vega cursed under his breath. "I didn't think of how bad it would hurt you guys, not until tonight. Just hang in there, you two know the truth, and that's all that really matters."

Garrus sighed.

"Wish there was a way to make the world see the truth, though. Maybe then the death threats would stop. Maybe then I could contemplate sleeping without a gun under my pillow, my wife wouldn't have to be armed in her own home. It'd be nice to not need a bodyguard."

Vega chuckled.

"On that note, why don't we head back to the house, before Lola decides to come looking for us."

They were almost there when they heard a shot ring out.


	5. Chapter 5

"Shit!" Vega swore as they ran back toward the house. "Shit!"

"I really hate that I let her talk me into so much land," Garrus huffed as he topped the hill in the back yard.

"Wait, over here," He motioned for Vega to follow him. "We're going to need something more than our fists."

Garrus threw open the door to the shed and walked in. On the back wall he pressed a switch and James gawked as the wall swiveled.

"It's like something out of an old spy vid," Vega said, reaching for an assault rifle.

"They had good ideas in those vids," Garrus explained as he grabbed a gun for himself. "Ammo's in the drawers over there."

James walked over to the drawers Garrus indicated, loaded his gun and then put a few more clips in his pants pocket. Just as he was finishing up, Garrus came over to join him, loading his own weapon.

It took five minutes to run from the back fence up to the shed. Another two to grab the guns and ammo and they were off again, quickly and quietly working their way to the side yard where the gun shots were coming from, but it felt like an eternity. Garrus could pick out the sound of Jane's Phalanx as she fired, and he was counting the rounds, knowing she only had the clip in the gun.

Four…

Five…

Six…

She had three shots left and then she'd have to switch to the Locust which would only give her 20 more rounds. They had to hurry!

He rounded the corner of the house and skidded to a halt as he watched his wife take down a merc. It had been so long since they'd been in a firefight he'd almost forgotten how beautiful, how graceful she was on the field. She shot the turian in the knee, dropping him to the ground as she stalked toward him.

"Who sent you?" She snarled as she grabbed him by his fringe, yanking him forward as she lifted her knee, hitting him squarely in the face.

The turian growled and struggled as she threw him to the ground, but she subdued him quickly. Using a move she'd learned from Garrus, she dug one knee into his back between his shoulder blades; the other was planted firmly against his lower spine, between his hips, grinding his pelvis into the ground.

"I asked you a question!" Her voice was low, menacing, as she yanked the turian's head up by his fringe. "Who sent you?"

Garrus ducked back behind the house for cover. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Vega cringe. The human made a hissing noise as he sucked air in through his teeth.

"Damn that looks painful," Vega whispered.

"I taught her that," Garrus said, unable to keep the pride from his voice. "And, yes, it's very painful. He's going to have quite a few broken plates, assuming he survives."

"Purity at any cost!" The merc yelled as he bucked, trying to throw Jane off his back.

"Dammit!" Garrus growled. "Her center of balance is off; she's not going to be able to stop him from throwing her."

He pulled up his sniper rifle, sighting in on the turian under his wife. He watched through the scope as Jane fell, landing on her back. The merc got up quickly, blood pouring from his face where she'd kneed him and pulled a pistol from his hip, aiming it toward Jane, but before he could pull the trigger Garrus sent a bullet flying. It hit its mark, the mercs head exploding from the force of the round.

Garrus was moving before the body hit the ground, running to Jane.

"Jane, love," He gasped, pulling her up and into his arms. "Are you okay?"

He ran his hands over her, searching for injuries.

"Should I call Chakwas?" Vega asked from behind Garrus as he surveyed the dead bodies in the side yard.

"No!" Jane said.

"Yes!" Garrus shouted at the same time.

"I don't need a doctor, Garrus," She said, running her hand along the side of his face. "I'm fine, the baby is fine."

"How can you be sure?" He asked, worried.

"Mother's intuition," She offered as an explanation.

"Vega, call Chakwas," Garrus said over his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around Jane, picking her up off the ground.

"Stubborn man," Jane growled.

"Crazy woman," He growled back. "What the hell were you thinking? Hand to hand with anyone in your condition is lunacy, but a turian? That's suicide! He could've killed you!"

"I know, Garrus, but what was I supposed to do?" Jane pulled him down as she leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together. "I was out of ammo."

"What about the Locust?" He asked. He'd only counted eight shots from her Phalanx; it had a nine shot clip. And he hadn't heard her shoot the Locust at all.

"Used it to take the bastards shields out," She explained. "I put my last round in his knee."

"You should've put it in his head," Vega said from behind them. "I called the authorities; they should be here soon. And Chakwas will be landing in under ten minutes. The Normandy is dry docked in London so she's not far."

"Thanks," Garrus sighed as he carried Jane through the house toward their bedroom.

"Garrus, put me down, I can walk on my own," Jane argued.

"No." There was a note in his voice that said he would brook no argument, he was carrying her and that was final, so she let him.

* * *

He stormed through the house, Jane cradled against his chest, mentally kicking himself for leaving her alone. He should've been more persistent with Vega and sent the human back to the house, she wouldn't have been alone then, she wouldn't have had to face down an attack on their home without either of the men tasked with protecting her.

"Garrus?" She was looking up at him, her hand on the side of his face, her eyes open wide. He could see the signs of the adrenaline running through her system as her vitals scrolled across his visor's screen. Even without that, though, he'd have known. She was trembling in his arms, her muscles twitching feverishly as they tried to expend the excitement of the firefight.

"Garrus, look at me," She said again as he laid her on their bed carefully. He lifted his eyes to meet hers and knew she saw every emotion he was trying to hide. He never could hide from her, she read him like an open book.

"Come here," She scooted over in the bed, holding her arms out to him.

"I want to feel you against me. I want to hold you."

Those two sentences broke him, tore through the panicked feeling welling up inside him at watching her tackle that intruder. He climbed into the bed next to her, propping himself against the headboard and helping her to climb between his legs. He cradled her in his arms, her face pressed against his chest, and threaded his fingers through hers were they rested on her tummy.

"Spirits, Jane," He whispered. "When you fell, when he stood over you with that gun, I saw my life end. I think my heart stopped for a second as I took that shot."

"Shh," She hushed him as she stroked her hand against the side of his neck. "It's over now. You saved me."

"Always got your six," He whispered against her hair as he nuzzled her.

"You're trembling, Garrus." She was stroking his arms, running her hands from elbow to wrist and back again where they were wrapped around her middle.

"Adrenaline," He explained.

"This has never happened before."

"Not in a while anyway," He chuckled as he held his hand up and watched it tremble. "Too long out of combat, my body doesn't know what to do now."

"Combat? You showed up at the end, after I'd taken care of everything," She was going for a joking tone, trying to lighten the mood between them, but the way he stiffened behind her told her she'd missed her mark.

"That'll never happen again," He growled, his arms tightening around her.

"Garrus, I was joking," She started, but he cut her off.

"Shut up! I should've been here, not off having a damn tantrum." That edge was back in his voice and it was starting to piss her off.

She shoved his arms away, getting off the bed to stand next to it. With him sitting and her standing they were eye to eye.

"Let's get one thing straight," She growled as her temper flared. "I am not a damsel in distress. I can take care of my damn self! I don't need anyone hovering over me, and I will not accept you sitting there making this all your fault."

Garrus got off the bed then, making her take a step back as he towered over her. It'd been years since he'd tried to use his size against her, mostly because he knew that it didn't mean a thing, she wouldn't hesitate to kick his ass if he stepped out of line. But they weren't commanding officer and subordinate any longer, they were husband and wife, partners, a team, and he wasn't going to have her barking orders at him.

"It is my job to care for you," He growled right back at her. "I failed."

"What the fuck macho bull shit is that?" Her voice was rising. "Your job? Fuck that! I've been taking care of myself for a lot longer than you've been in my life. I don't need anyone to take care of me!"

Garrus' response was simple. He snarled, throwing himself away from her and pacing across their room. He stopped at the low dresser against the wall, slamming his fist against the top before leaning his elbows there. He put his head in his hands and she watched as he panted. He was pissed, furious, but she wasn't about to back down just because of this little show.

"You want to be angry you missed a good fight, be angry, but don't you dare try to turn this into a pity party. You can't fail at a task you were never given!" She continued.

She heard Garrus huff, the noise somewhere between a laugh and a sigh, before he turned to face her. He wasn't any less calm, there was a feral look in his eyes, but he seemed to have a better grip on his temper. He was no longer snarling and panting.

"He had a gun pointed at the baby," The words were growled, so low Jane almost didn't hear them. "Crazy as it sounds, I would probably be handling this better if that pistol had been aimed at your head. I've dealt with that before. If I'd been a second slower, he would've shot you and the child. I would've lost both of you in the blink of an eye."

Jane looked down to her protruding stomach, laying a hand over it. She hadn't realized. The whole thing had happened so fast. One second she had the turian pinned to the ground, she had him by his fringe and was getting ready to smash his face against the pea gravel, the next she was on her back, scrambling backwards as he got up and pulled the gun on her. She didn't know exactly where he was aiming, from the angle she was at it was impossible to tell. All she'd seen was barrel, and behind it the turian's sneer just before his head exploded.

"I hadn't realized," Jane whispered back.

Suddenly the fit he was having made sense. He was used to seeing her in danger; he'd seen her stare down the barrel of a gun more than once. Every time she'd known he was on her six; when she pulled some stupid stunt, he was there to back her up. She hadn't given a second thought to their son when she'd gone after that turian, at least not in the sense Garrus was now. She'd been focusing on figuring out who was threatening them, and she'd assumed her body would protect the baby.

"God, Garrus," She took a step toward him. "I didn't think."

"Oh, that's pretty obvious." She ignored his snarky response as she walked toward him slowly.

"I lost my mind out there, someone had sent them after us and I wanted to know who. I didn't think about the danger I was putting myself in, and in the back of my mind I just assumed my body would protect the baby," She tried to explain.

"If you're trying to apologize for scaring me half to the grave, this isn't the way," He closed the distance between them, pulling her close.

"I'm sorry," She whispered against his chest as she felt his hand cup the back of her head.

"That was a little better." He curled his fingers around her hair, used his grip to pull her head back. "But try again, with a bit more feeling."

He leaned down toward her, his mouth plates brushing against her lips as he spoke.

"I am so sorry that I scared you," She whispered, more breathe than noise, but she knew he heard her.

He crushed her mouth with his, holding her head still with the grip in her hair as he plundered. There was a ferocity there that she hadn't felt in a long time. He nipped at her bottom lip, opening her mouth as his tongue slid against hers. They dueled, fighting for dominance as she felt his other hand slide down her body to her rear. She moaned as he cupped her bottom, yanking her closer to him.

"Don't ever do that to me again," He said as he pulled back from the kiss.

He ran his mouth along her jaw, licking down her neck to where it joined her shoulder, nipping lightly as he started walking forward, pushing Jane toward the bed they'd vacated minutes earlier. He was being domineering, and Jane knew he needed it after tonight's events. She let him have the lead, relaxing into his body as his hand released her hair, sliding down her spine to join his other hand on her rear, then lower to her thighs.

She gasped as he picked her up, supporting her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist, then her world spun as he turned around, dropping down onto the bed with her straddling his lap. Normally, in this position she was in control, she could set the pace and amount of teasing, but he wasn't having any of that. He wrapped his arms around her, sliding his hands up her back until they gripped her shoulders, pulling her back slightly, stretching her over his legs. He leaned in, nipping down the column of her neck until he reached her shirt.

He stopped, sitting her back up and reached for the hem of her shirt. Carefully he pulled it up and over her head. He went back to her neck, licking back up to her ear, closing his teeth over the lobe momentarily before he reversed direction and headed back for the flesh he'd freed.

"Garrus," Jane gasped as he nudged the strap of her tank top over her shoulder causing it to hang limply against her arm.

"Garrus!" This time the alarm in her voice stopped him.

"Yes, Jane?" He looked into her eyes, curious why she was stopping him. If the moans coming from her were any indication, she'd been enjoying what he was doing.

"We have guests," She hissed.

"James won't come in," Garrus reassured her. Now that Vega had that implant he'd know not to disturb them.

"No, but I will," Dr. Chakwas said from the doorway.

Jane leaned forward, burying her flushed face against his neck as the doctor entered the room, a medical emergency kit in one hand. He noticed that she was shaking again, only this time it was with laughter.

"Figures," She whispers. "I get you alone and frisky enough to forget that I'm as big as a house and someone walks in on us."

"What?" He pulled her away from his neck, making her look at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, come on, Garrus, you haven't touched me sexually in at least a month. Every time I start something you turn to ice the moment your hand brushes my stomach," She said as she climbed off his lap and turned her attention to the doctor.

"So, I assume you're here to examine me?"

"That's right," Dr. Chakwas nodded. "Garrus, if you'll excuse us."

He was so shocked by what she'd said that he didn't fight as the doctor led him out of the room before shutting the door in his face.

He was still standing there, staring at the closed door, slack jawed, a few minutes later when Vega came up to him.

"Hey, Scars," Vega slapped him on the shoulder. "You okay?"

"She thinks I don't want her," He whispered, he turned and walked away, heading for the basement. He needed to think. He had a problem to fix.

"What?" Vega dogged his steps, right on his heels as they walked through the house. "I didn't catch that."

"Wasn't talking to you," Garrus mumbled.

"Maybe you should be." Vega grabbed Garrus' arm, stopping him before he made it to the basement door. "Damn it Scars, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"You and the talking; why are you obsessed with getting me to talk?" Garrus yanked his arm free.

"Because I can't read minds," Vega explained. "If I could do that "embrace eternity" thing the Doc does, I would. Then you wouldn't have to tell me what the hell happened in there that has you so spooked."

"What is your real purpose here?" Garrus questioned. "You're way too curious about what's going through my head."

"I'm here to protect you and Lola," James quirked an eyebrow, his expression one of confusion. "You know what, fuck this. Never mind, you looked upset and I wanted to help, that's all, but if this is how you're going to be, fuck you!"

Vega turned around, heading toward the shattered patio door. He stepped through the frame and into the side yard.

"Wow, Garrus, you're reaching new levels of asshole right in front of my eyes."

He turned at the soft voice to see Liara standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"How long have you been here?" Garrus asked.

"Long enough to see you spit into the face of a friend," Liara answered. She had a broom and a dust pan in her hands, the dust pan filled with broken glass from the kitchen window.

"No, I mean, when'd you get in from London," Garrus clarified. "I thought you wouldn't be here for another week."

"I hitched a ride with Chakwas when James' call came in." She walked away and he could hear a cabinet door open—he really needed to fix that squeak—followed by the tinkling sound of glass falling into the trash.

"Is there anyone else in my house that I don't know about?" He asked as she exited the kitchen.

"Do you have a vacuum or some way I can get the glass out of your carpet?" She ignored his question and started opening doors, looking in the closets for a vacuum.

"Why are you doing this, Liara?" He asked, as he opened the hall closet and got the vacuum out. "I'll clean it up once I'm sure Jane is well."

"I'm trying to help a dear friend of mine. Are you going to chomp my head off now, as well?" She sneered.

"Bite your head off, not chomp. And no," Garrus said. She yanked on the vacuum, trying to take it from him, but he held his ground.

"I don't know why I did that," He explained. "I'm so worried about Jane; I don't understand why he's worried about me. I'm fine; I'm not the one carrying our child, so I don't need to be worried after."

Liara gave the vacuum one final yank, jerking it out of Garrus' hands while he was distracted, then walked over to the mess in the living room. Searching the walls, she found an outlet and plugged the appliance in but didn't turn it on.

"That's where you're wrong. Who's taking care of Jane? Who's the one she looks to for strength when she's tired? Who's been lying awake at night to keep her propped up so she can sleep peacefully," She paused to take a breath and he tried to interrupt her. "Nuh-huh, don't ask me how I know that. It's not relevant."

"I think it is," Garrus interjected.

"What I'm saying is that she's not leaning on me or Vega or Tali or anyone else, she's leaning on you. She needs you. And while you're busy looking after her, someone needs to look after you. Enter your friends," Liara held her hands out gesturing around her as though the people in question were there. "Though, after that little episode, I think you may be down one."

"It wasn't that bad."

She pegged him with a glare that told him he was delusional if he truly believed that without her having to utter a word.

Rolling his shoulders and neck to try to relieve the sudden tension in them, he headed to the kitchen. He studiously didn't look at the mess in the room as he moved to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers—one levo and one dextro. He told himself he didn't see the soapy water splashed everywhere, the human blood smeared against the tiles in front of the sink. He definitely didn't see the hole in the window that was made by a sniper rifle.

* * *

James was sitting on the hill; his back against the shed as he gazed out at the stars. It was different, being on Earth and looking up at them. He'd gotten so used to being among the stars that being under them was almost disconcerting.

"She thinks I don't want her," A two toned voice came from the right of him, just before a beer lowered in front of his face.

The words were simple; an answer to the question he'd asked earlier, but in the sub harmonics James could hear an apology mixed with shame and embarrassment. After only a day around him, James was getting used to hearing multiple emotions from Garrus, the turian couldn't seem to agree on just one feeling. It was always a mix. James saw it as a great training experience.

"I'm sorry?" James said.

He knew what Garrus meant, but he was hurt. Ever since that damn implant had gone in, he'd been connecting with his emotions more and reacting to them as well. He'd thought Garrus was a friend, after everything they'd gone through, he figured the turian could confide in him. Maybe he was wrong.

"You asked what had me so spooked," Garrus explained. "She thinks I don't want her. Accused me of getting 'cold' whenever we…"

"Got it," James cut in, stopping his friend from continuing.

"Can I sit?" Garrus asked.

"It's your yard," James reminded him.

"True," Garrus chuckled as he sat down. "Why'd you get so upset that I wouldn't talk to you?"

James shrugged then took a swig off his beer.

"It's hard to explain. I've been out of sorts ever since they put this thing in." He tapped behind his left ear for emphasis. "It's like being deaf and then suddenly being able to hear."

Garrus tilted his head, studying Vega for a moment before realization dawned, and he decided to try a little experiment.

"Jesus Christ!" Vega jumped, putting a hand over his ear.

Garrus threw his head back, laughing as he realized what Vega's problem was. He was so distracted by his revelation he didn't see the fist that hit him in the shoulder.

"Ow! Bastard!" Garrus slugged Vega back.

"Says the one who just blew out my ear drum," Vega was still rubbing his ear.

"I did not. You're just not used to it yet. You'll learn."

"Learn what?"

Garrus groped for the words he'd need to explain something that was as natural to him as breathing.

"Think of a human baby," Garrus started. "When they're born they don't know how to walk, talk, feed themselves, it's all new and it's all things they need to learn. Well, for a turian, we also learn how to read someone's sub harmonics. We learn how to tune them out as well. For me, walking into a room of turians is like you walking into a club, at first it's all noisy, but then you adjust. Your brain tells your ears to ignore all the background noise so you can hear the person you're talking to. But it's not something turians are born with, and it's why parents will keep their young secluded for the first year, only having small gatherings. If you ever see a turian baby out in public, you'll notice the child is screaming or crying, it's because they're having a sensory overload—sort of what I did to you just now."

"Yeah, never do that again," James growled. "So this is just something I'll get used to?"

"Eventually. Maybe. Or your human brain won't be able to handle it. But I don't see that happening, and once you get used to it, it'll stop effecting you. You'll stop feeling sympathy emotions. If I'm happy, but you're angry, you won't suddenly start feeling happy. Or if I'm pissed off, you won't have the urge to go beat someone bloody."

Vega nodded and took another pull off his beer. They sat there like that for a few minutes just staring off into the sky, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

"Why does she think that?" Vega broke the silence first.

"Because we haven't been intimate lately," Garrus looked down at his beer as he said it. "And it is partially my fault."

"Is it true then? You're not attracted to her?" Vega looked over at his friend. "Because, I have to say, Lola's hot, even pregnant."

"Especially pregnant," Garrus corrected.

"So then what's the problem?"

Garrus shrugged—a human characteristic he'd picked up in his time aboard the _Normandy_.

They sat silently again, Garrus staring down at the grass under him, Vega leaned against the shed, his head back and eyes closed.

"I'm afraid of hurting her," Garrus finally confessed. "Or the baby."

"Are you really that rough?" Vega asked then quickly amended. "No, wait, I don't want to know."

Garrus laughed before answering anyway, "No, I know how to be gentle. I know what those damn gossip magazines say about my species, but most of it is wrong."

"Most of it?" Vega raised a quizzical eyebrow. "I probably shouldn't ask, but I'm going to anyway. What isn't wrong?"

"Yes, we do have talons. No, they're not that sharp. Yes, some turians do grow theirs long, but most don't," Garrus held his hand out, showing Vega his trimmed nails. "They're really no different than human finger nails. Maybe a bit thicker, but I'm not going to shred someone like an angry varren."

"That's it?" Vega was genuinely curious now. He didn't realize Garrus read those magazines, much less kept track of what they got wrong.

Garrus sighed before continuing. "Okay, there's this damn myth about us biting. While, yes, we do bite—I know you noticed Jane's scar—it's a ceremonial thing. We don't go off in a fit of pique and bite every woman we sleep with. We're not savages. It's to show the bond between mates."

"So, that scar," Vega started, not sure how to continue. "You actually…?"

Garrus gave him a droll stare before answering. "She bit me back."

He couldn't figure out what about it was so funny, but Garrus' response set Vega off.

"Funny, Scars, real funny."

"No, really, she did," Garrus leaned down, tilting his head to show a small scar on his shoulder.

"So that's it then, it's a onetime deal?" Vega asked as he looked at the small scar.

"Yup, kind of like a wedding night, I guess," Garrus explained with a shrug. "Some turians don't do it anymore, they think it's archaic. I gave Jane the option; I wasn't going to force her."

"Okay, so if you're not a savage, what's stopping you from taking care of your woman?" James asked. "I mean, you realize that pregnant women are just hormone factories, right? Horny like rabbits in spring time."

"Like what when?" Garrus asked.

"Rabbits," Vega repeated. "Next spring you'll understand when your yard is covered in little fuzzy tailed animals doing it like they do on the discovery channel."

"You are making absolutely no sense," Garrus finished off his beer and set the bottle aside then gestured to Vega's empty bottle. "I thought you could handle that stuff."

"Ha. Ha. I'm not drunk; you're just not up on human vernacular. That's not my fault," Vega sighed and set his head back against the shed closing his eyes for a moment.

"Okay, let me try this again," He began. "And may I mention I can't believe I'm giving you a health lesson. Anyway, during pregnancy a woman's body produces an extremely large amount of hormones. The same hormones that make her hot normally, only in a much larger quantity; what that means, you dimwit, is that you are wasting your chance to get laid until you can't walk straight. And the rest of us who don't have anyone are both jealous and furious with you. Stop dicking around and do your wife!"


	6. Chapter 6

Liara turned off the vacuum and stepped back, surveying her work. She had vacuumed the whole living room and into the hall way to make sure she'd gotten all the glass out of the carpet. It would probably be a good idea, though, if everyone wore shoes for a few days until they were sure that some hadn't slipped past the appliance.

She was winding up the cord for the vacuum when Dr. Chakwas stepped into the room.

"Good work, Liara," The doctor said.

"I was hoping we could get someone here this weekend to replace the window and patio door, but that's not going to happen," Liara shrugged. "But I was able to get a barrier generator so we'll be able to keep the house safe until everything is replaced."

"Well, that's something," Chakwas agreed. "It would've been nice to replace the door and window tomorrow so everyone could put this situation behind them. But, Monday isn't that far off."

"No it isn't," Liara sat down on the couch and Chakwas came over and joined her.

"I made a few calls while you were in with Jane. Zaeed said he should be here by breakfast tomorrow; Kasumi was with Samara at the monastery so they won't be here until Tuesday, and I'm waiting on a few others to get back to me with their itineraries. We should have a full compliment to keep these two safe by the end of the week, though."

"Kasumi was with Samara?" Chakwas looked stunned.

"Yes, I know, it seems odd but I guess they really bonded on the Collector mission and then again during the war."

"It'll be good for Jane and Garrus to have friends around right now," Chakwas smiled. "I think they both could use a confidant."

"Well, as long as James is here, Garrus is set. I'm just going to hide anything valuable of mine so that it doesn't get harmed when the antics start," Liara chuckled. "I haven't etched my name into everything I own like Jane did."

Chakwas leaned against the back of the couch as she laughed. She'd almost forgotten about that incident on the Normandy.

"The thing I don't understand is how James got into the loft in the first place. Garrus had the lock on that door so encrypted that even Tali couldn't figure it out."

Liara felt her face flush as she looked away from the doctor. She nibbled on her lip for a second before finally waving her hand then pointing at herself.

"I may have…helped…" She confessed.

"LIARA!" The doctor gasped before falling back in another fit of laughter.

"What? Garrus had gotten me pretty bad a few times and James' idea was sound. How was _I_ supposed to know that he would screw it up and paint the wrong rifle?"

The doctor shook her head, still chuckling as she got up from the couch. She turned to Liara and wiggled a finger at her.

"Just be warned, if Jane ever finds out you were involved in that, even being the Shadow Broker won't save you." The doctor's words were serious but she had a huge grin on her face. Jane had promised that if she ever found out who'd helped James get into the loft to paint her rifle she would make them pay dearly.

"You're not going to tell her, are you?" Liara asked.

"Of course not! That stunt was priceless and it needs to remain a mystery."

"Thank the Goddess," Liara sighed and leaned back against the couch. "So, how is she?"

"Ehh," The doctor shrugged sobering instantly as she turned to look toward the hall way. "Physically she's healthy and the baby is okay, a little shook up, but okay. But emotionally, I'm not sure. She's hurting about something."

"Should I get Garrus?" Liara hopped up from the couch, half way to the patio door before Chakwas could stop her.

"No," Chakwas said. "I think what she needs right now is time away from him; time that is just about her. She needs a friend."

"Ooh," Liara turned back around.

"Most human women are surrounded by friends and family when they're pregnant," Chakwas explained. "They have their mother and maybe even grandmother to look to for advice and to help them take their mind off of pregnancy and delivery and dealing with a nervous father to be."

"But Jane's mom…" Liara started but the doctor cut her off.

"I know, which means she needs someone even more during this time in her life."

"I didn't even think about that," Liara said. "Asari are so different. For many, by the time they're in their matron stage and having children their parents are gone from their life."

"Humans are very social creatures," The doctor said as a way of explanation. "We thrive best in communities, especially in times like this."

"So, what should I do?" Liara asked.

"Just be there for her, talk to her," The doctor said. "Do what you've always done."

"I can do that," Liara said.

"Well, I'm out of here; I have to get back to the Normandy. We're grounded until Jane has the baby—a certain pilot and his girlfriend refuse to chance missing the birth of the, and I quote, "Galaxy's cutest baby."

"And Hackett can't order EDI around," Liara chuckled.

"He didn't really fight them; he knows how much everyone from the original crew wants to be here."

Chakwas informed Liara that she'd left the emergency medical kit in the hallway, in case it was needed, and made sure Liara had every possible way to contact her if something happened. They said good bye and the doctor headed to the waiting shuttle.

Liara stood in the entryway, thinking. Jane needed a friend, someone to talk to, and someone to confide in. Why hadn't she realized that before? Goddess, those emails from Jane had been her pleading with Liara that she needed someone to talk to that wasn't Garrus, and Liara hadn't realized it. Some days she was still that naïve child that Jane rescued from Therum.

Deciding that what Jane needed was some girl talk, like they'd done on the Normandy, Liara headed for the kitchen. She opened the freezer and dug around until she found what she was looking for. A quick search through the drawers and she had everything they'd need.

* * *

Jane could hear voices in the living room but she couldn't make out the words. It sounded like Chakwas was talking to someone, but it was hard to tell who it was since they were so muffled. It didn't really matter anyway, though, since Jane was confined to her bed for the rest of the night. She felt like a little kid being grounded. Worse, she knew she deserved to be grounded. She'd been reckless.

Bed rest.

Ugh! Just the idea of being stuck sedentary for an undetermined amount of time scared Jane. She wasn't someone who sat around; she was a take charge sort of woman. She barked orders, she ran into the fray and she got things done.

_Running into the fray is what got you here._ She reminded herself.

She punched a fist into the bed next to her hip. She knew she would follow the doctor's orders, but that didn't make this any better. She was going to go stir crazy. It had only been ten minutes since the doctor had left and already she was antsy.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door frame. Liara was standing there with a quart of ice cream and two spoons.

"So, I was thinking," Liara started. "We haven't had a good girl's night in ages."

"No, we haven't," Jane agreed.

"And Fleet and Flotilla 2 is available now," Liara continued.

"Ooh?"

"So, what would you and the baby say to ice cream and a vid?"

"Get over here!" Jane scooted across the bed so Liara could get in.

Liara chuckled as she walked over to the bed and hopped up next to Jane. She handed out the spoons then pulled up her omni tool and clicked through a few pages.

"Ahh! Here we go," Liara said as she set up the vid.

They were barely twenty minutes into the vid when Jane leaned over, setting her head on Liara's shoulder.

"I miss Garrus," Jane sighed.

"Do you want me to go get him?" Liara offered.

"No," Jane sighed again. "Then he'll be next to me and I'll be missing him more."

Liara pulled away a little bit, tilting her head so she could look at Jane.

"I don't understand," she said.

"He's always here, but I miss him. I miss what we used to have. Now it's all about the baby, always worrying about the baby. Will we hurt the baby, is this safe for the baby," Jane's voice broke as she started to cry.

Liara wrapped her arm around her best friend, holding Jane as she cried, her face buried against Liara's shoulder.

"I'm sure he doesn't mean it like that," Liara said.

"We haven't had sex in over a month. A month, Liara. There was a time he couldn't go six hours without me. But now," Jane started crying harder. "Now he doesn't even want me."

"I know for a fact that isn't the case," Liara said, pulling Jane away from her shoulder so they were eye to eye.

"Yeah, right," Jane snorted. "Look at me, Liara! I'm fat. Turian women aren't fat. They have skinny waists and pronounced hips."

Jane hopped off the bed, standing in front of her friend, her hands on her waist attempting to emphasize her short comings.

"They're tall, and they have fringe. But me, I'm fat, my waist is gone, my hips are gone, I'm short, and I'm round," Jane ended with a sigh, her shoulders slumping forward as the tears continued to fall. "I'm as far from a turian female as he could get."

Liara felt paralyzed by grief as she watched her best friend cry. She'd seen Jane angry, enraged, frustrated, happy, scared, and a myriad of other emotions, but she'd never been witness to sadness this profound from Jane.

"Jane," Liara sighed, but Jane cut her off before she could continue.

"I bet their waists get smaller when they're pregnant. If I was turian, he wouldn't be shying away from me," Jane sniffled.

"Do you really believe that?" Liara asked. She picked her omni-tool up off the bed and turned off the movie.

"Of course," Jane snapped. "It's pretty obvious the problem is me."

"Come here," Liara patted the bed, scooting over to the spot Jane had been in so Jane could get back onto the bed. "I want to show you something."

Liara continued to tap through files and folders, entering passwords and encryption codes as she went until finally she found what she was looking for. Sometimes, it was good to be the Shadow Broker.

"Look," Liara enlarged the holo screen so Jane could see the picture without having to hunch over Liara's omni-tool.

Jane's jaw dropped as she took in the image in front of her. It was a female turian, obviously pregnant, smiling toward the camera. Her hand was over her stomach, and it was clear she was happy about her impending motherhood. Jane took in her features, the silvery blue eyes, the blue facial markings, and her height. She was a female version of Garrus.

"Is that…?" Jane gasped

"Garrus' mom," Liara whispered. "When she was pregnant with him."

"Where did you get this?" Jane's hand stretched out toward the image, stopping just shy of it as she traced the woman's stomach.

"That's not really important," Liara answered. "I'm showing it to you because I think it will help. You think that Garrus doesn't want you because of some absurd notion that turian women don't change when they're pregnant. They do. Every species does. Well, except Salarians, but that's because they lay eggs."

The image changed, the next showing Garrus' mom, again, but this time she was sitting down with a younger female turian on her lap.

"Solana," Liara said in explanation.

Garrus' mom had her arms around Solana, her mandible pressed to the young girl's forehead while Solana's hand rested on her mom's stomach. Neither was looking at the camera which made Jane think that the picture had been taken secretly.

The image changed again, the next was another shot of Garrus' mom standing in profile. The image reminded her of a few shots that Garrus had been adamant she let him take. Every few weeks he'd make her stand there, smiling at him, as he snapped a picture of her in profile.

The image Jane was looking at had something written at the bottom of it.

"What does that mean?" Jane asked, pointing to the characters at the bottom of the image.

"It says 'Mialyn- 28 weeks'," Liara translated.

Jane continued to stare at the images as they flipped through. Jane watched as Mialyn transformed through her pregnancy. Her waist disappeared, her hips were less pronounced because of the extra weight of the child. It was identical to a human pregnancy.

"If it's not the changes, then what?" Jane asked when they came back to the first image.

"I don't know," Liara shrugged. "But I know it's not because your body looks different. Maybe you should talk to him."

"Maybe," Jane sighed.

They sat quietly as the images cycled a second time; just as it was ending Liara cleared her throat.

"So, um, I have a few others if you'd like to see them," She said, sheepishly.

"Other what? Pictures?" Jane asked, turning to her friend.

"Yes," Liara closed the folder they'd been in then opened another.

Jane watched the holo screen as the image came up. It was a young turian that looked very similar to one she knew quite well.

"Oh my God!" She squealed. "That's Garrus!"

Liara nodded, smiling from ear to ear.

"He was so cute!" Jane giggled.

* * *

Garrus and James stepped through the broken patio door at the same time and stopped when they heard the giggling.

"Girls night," They both said then chuckled.

"Guess I'm sleeping on the couch," Garrus said with a shake of the head.

"Probably, but it's for a good cause," James reminded him. "They've both needed this."

"They'll probably be up half the night," Garrus responded as he headed for the kitchen. James followed and grabbed a stool in front of the island.

"That's okay; they can sleep half the day tomorrow if they need to."

Garrus raised a brow plate.

"Do you really see either of them sleeping half the day away?"

James thought for a moment before chuckling and shaking his head. He took the beer that Garrus handed him and popped the top off it.

"Just like old times, huh, Scars?" James asked with a salute of his beer bottle.

"Mm-hmm," Garrus nodded. "They've taken over our room and I'm left with you."

"Ooh! Ouch!" James held his hand over his heart dramatically. "But I'd expect a low blow like that from the guy who's about to get his ass handed to him in Galaxy at War."

"Really, Vega? Why's that, did you finally shell out the credits for lessons?"

"While you've been painting nurseries and picking out baby clothes, I've been practicing," James explained as he got up from the stool and headed to the living room.

"Painting doesn't take that long," Garrus shot back as he walked out of the kitchen behind James. "And Jane's been picking out the clothing. I've actually had quite a bit of free time on my hands."

James snorted as he set the game up.

* * *

Hours later, Liara quietly walked from Jane and Garrus' room to the living room. As she expected, he was sleeping on the couch.

"Garrus?" She whispered, touching his shoulder lightly.

"Wha!" He shot straight up on the couch, his hand sliding under his pillow toward his sidearm.

"Woah!" Liara grabbed his arm before he could pull the gun out. "It's just me."

"Oh, Liara," He relaxed, leaning back. "Why are you up? Do you need something?"

"I'm just heading to bed. Jane's asleep already, but I thought I'd let you know that you could go sleep in your own bed."

"Ok, thanks," Garrus rubbed a hand over his face and into his fringe. He scratched at a space in the fringe as he yawned.

"Garrus?"

"Hmm?" He asked as Liara sat down next to him.

"I wanted to talk to you about Jane," Liara began.

"What about her?" He turned a bit on the couch so he was facing Liara.

"She was really upset earlier tonight—worried that you don't want her anymore. I told her that wasn't the case. Was I lying?"

Garrus gawked at Liara. He wasn't used to her being so forward.

"Am I dreaming? Did you just ask me if I'm still attracted to my wife?"

Garrus looked down at his arm, wondering if the human concept of pinching himself to see if he was asleep would work.

"You're awake," Liara chuckled. "And, yes, that is exactly what I just asked. Jane seems to think that you're not attracted because her body has changed with the pregnancy. She has it in her mind that if she were turian the changes wouldn't bother you."

"That's insane!"

"Not to someone who's feeling neglected and unwanted," Liara pointed out.

"Spirits!" He said under his breath. "I know I've been a little…withdrawn…but it's not because I don't want her. It had nothing to do with that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Garrus looked up at her, distress showing on his face and in the way his mandibles fluttered and flared wildly.

"Okay," Liara nodded sharply, once. "That's all I needed to hear."

Liara got up from the couch and headed toward the hallway.

"Liara?" Garrus called, stopping her.

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

He wanted to say more. He felt like he needed to say more, but nothing came to mind. He was grateful that she'd taken the time to talk to him. He knew that Jane thought he didn't want her, she'd been pretty clear about that, but he hadn't realized she was hurting because of it.

Spirits, he was an idiot.

"You're welcome," Liara smiled, as though she knew exactly what he meant with that one word, then disappeared around the corner.

His brow plates shot up when he heard the door to Vega's room open then close a few moments later.

_Vega and Liara?_ He thought to himself as he got off the couch and folded up the blanket he'd been using.

_Whatever makes them happy. _He decided as he gathered up the pillow and blanket and brought them to the hall closet. Once they were put away, he snuck into his bedroom, quietly walking to the bathroom and got ready for bed. He went through his nightly routine quickly, washing his face, brushing his teeth, and stripping down before heading toward the bed.

He was just crawling under the blankets when Jane stirred.

"Garrus?" She whispered as she rolled over.

"Right here, love," He assured her as he reached through the blankets for her. He hooked his arm around her waist and tugged her across the mattress until her back was pressed to his front.

She snuggled against him, her bottom rubbing against his pelvis as she settled down.

"I miss you," She murmured.

"I'm right here," He soothed as he pressed his mouth against her temple. It wasn't a kiss but it was the closest he could come to one without lips.

She rolled over so she was facing him where he laid on his side, tugged the small pillow they kept on the bed down until it was between her cheek and the plates covering his upper arm, then threw her leg over his hip. He ran his hand—the one connected to the arm she wasn't laying on—from her shoulder to her hip, enjoying the dips and curves of her body, as she fell back to sleep.

He rubbed his face against her hair, taking in the scent of her shampoo mingled with an exotic note that was specific to his wife. There were so many thoughts running through his mind, so many things he wanted to say to her.

But if he knew Jane, and after all the years they'd been together he'd like to think he did, just telling her that he wanted her wasn't going to be enough to reassure her. He needed to find a way to show her.

"How am I supposed to prove to you, Jane," He whispered into her hair. "That I want you. You drive me to distraction constantly. Turians aren't supposed to be used to walking around with their plates loose, you know, and yet I am. You do that to me, woman," He paused again, running his hand down her body once more. "You drive me insane. Every time you look at me I forget how to breathe."

She muttered in her sleep incoherently and he smiled.

"Why can't I figure out how to tell you this when you're awake?" His hand moved up to cup her face and he traced her cheek bone with his thumb. She leaned into his hand with a sigh and his heart seized momentarily. She was the center of his universe, the sun he revolved around.

_I should write greeting cards._ He thought to himself with a wry smile.

Jane sighed again, burrowing deeper into the pillow under her cheek as a shiver ran through her body and he watched the skin on her arm, which was uncovered, as goose bumps pimpled the surface.

He pulled the blankets up over her shoulders, tucking them, and himself, tightly around her.

"Sleep, love, we can worry about this tomorrow." And with that he closed his eyes and dozed off.


	7. Chapter 7

The quiet click as their bedroom door closed woke Garrus. Rolling over, he checked the bedside clock—he'd only been asleep a few hours, but it didn't shock him that Jane was up already. They'd been civilians for six months now, hardly enough time to break any old habits and both were still used to waking early. The fact that the sun wasn't up yet didn't bother either of them since space was always dark.

_Should I get up and follow her?_ He thought to himself. It would be the perfect time to talk about everything that was going on in their lives. But maybe she wanted time to herself. He didn't want to come across as overbearing.

He rolled onto his back, adjusting his pillow behind his head to accommodate his fringe and stared up at the ceiling. To wander out and check on her, possibly open up a dialogue about his fears and try to put some of hers to rest, or to lay here and gather his thoughts and hope that he got a better chance later to talk to her.

"Now," He said to himself as he rolled out of bed. He pulled on a pair of soft pants made of some material that Jane said felt like flannel and headed out of their room.

As he walking through the living room he saw her sitting out on the patio. She was perched on the steps that lead from the deck to the grass, her hand with the cup of tea tucked snuggly against her upper arm, the warm cup pressed against her clavicle. It was something she did if she was lost in thought. And it didn't have to be a cup, more than once he'd found his hand pressed there because she'd been holding it and drifted off into her thoughts.

He made a bee line for the kitchen, deciding that a cup of tea wasn't a bad idea. If he was being honest with himself, he really didn't want the drink, but the time it would take to prepare it was more time he had to prepare himself for the upcoming conversation.

_Come on, Vakarian, _he goaded himself. _You faced down reapers. You fought through London, solo, to find her and save her. But now you're afraid to talk to her? _

He could smell her tea, a mix of herbs and citrus, before he got to the kitchen, and just as he'd suspected, she'd made a whole pot even though she was the only one awake to drink it. He pulled down a mug and poured some for himself, thankful he wasn't allergic to levo amino acids in any capacity. Once his mug was full he went back to the living room and stepped through the hole that was once their patio door. He knew she heard him. Her posture may not have given anything away, but he knew her well enough to be confident that she was aware of him.

He sat down on the step next to her.

"Morning," He said, staring down at his cup of tea.

"Good morning," She responded, still staring out at the back yard. "I didn't wake you when I got up, did I?"

"Not exactly," He paused to blow on his tea, watching the steam rolling away from it and into the cool morning air. "I woke up when I heard the bedroom door close."

"Oh," She responded. She hadn't turned to look at him; her eyes were still on the horizon and slightly glazed over. She was holding a conversation with him but her mind was elsewhere.

_Well, here goes nothing,_ Garrus thought as he took a drink of the tea. It wasn't his favorite, but it wasn't bad. He just preferred less orange in his tea.

"Spirits, Jane! I was at the fence line when the first shot was fired! I was over two acres away from you!" He began. He didn't take his eyes off his drink as he spoke.

He turned to her then, setting his mug of tea down behind himself and grabbing her by the shoulders, turning her to him.

"I was so far away and all I could to was run toward you and hope I got here before you got hurt or worse. All I could think was that every breath I took might be your last. I wasn't here and I should've been." She opened her lips to say something—probably to remind him that she can take care of herself—but he didn't let her. He pressed his mouth plates to her lips, silencing her.

They stayed like that for long moments, their mouths pressed together, one of his hands moved up from her shoulder to the back of her neck, keeping her close. He didn't deepen the kiss, as much as his body was screaming at him to do so, because he knew if he did he'd be lost and he didn't know when he'd get another chance to tell her everything.

He slowly pulled back, tilting his head until their foreheads pressed together, he nuzzled against her lightly.

"I know you can take care of yourself," He said once he caught his breath. "Logically, I knew you were capable of handling the situation yesterday, but logic doesn't play into emotions. My brain wasn't working, all I felt was fear. I love you, Jane."

"I love you too, Garrus," A small smile tugged at her lips as she answered.

"I can't live without you," Garrus growled. "I refuse to."

"I'm sorry I scared you last night," Jane apologized again.

"No!" His tone was stern even as his voice was low so as not to disturb the intimacy of the situation. "I don't want you to apologize! Last night you did and it didn't make me feel any better. You shouldn't ever apologize for doing what you have to. I'm not bringing that up because I want you to say sorry."

He sighed. He had so many things he wanted to say, but he'd been hoping to have time to practice this speech. He didn't want it to be laced with left over anxiety and fueled by panic; he wanted it to be romantic. He wanted it to be perfect. Wasn't he supposed to be showing her that he was still attracted to her, that she drove him crazy, that he couldn't live without her? How did he end up here, rehashing the past evenings feelings?

"This isn't how I planned this conversation to go," He let his head drop, their foreheads parting. "I don't know where all of this is coming from. This isn't even what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Garrus," Jane's hand came up to the side of his face, fitting itself to the curve of his mandible. "Look at me."

She applied the slightest pressure with her hand, prompting him to pick his head up.

* * *

Liara had meddled. It hadn't been what Jane wanted, but she knew Liara had said something to Garrus. She sort of expected it after her break down the night before, and while a part of her had been hoping that Liara would step in, would talk to Garrus, the rest of her was hoping she wouldn't.

Yes, she felt a little neglected. Yes, she was upset that he didn't seem interested in her. But she was afraid that if someone else stepped in, or heck, even if she was the one to say something, that the situation would be worse. She didn't know how Garrus would handle being told that she was upset, that she felt neglected. Would he talk to her rationally or would he do something outrageous in an attempt to prove himself? If he found out that she felt like he wasn't attracted to her, that she was afraid she didn't turn him on anymore would he grab her and ravish her?

Did she want him to?

That was the real question. Did she want him to act like the last month hadn't happened and just jump back into bed, back into stealing her away whenever he wanted her?

Oh there was no doubt she was horny. Her hormones were set to overdrive and she was so sexually frustrated it was becoming painful. But she didn't want a sacrificial lamb or turian in this case under her. She wanted to know, no, she _needed _to know that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She needed to know that he wasn't just doing this to take care of her.

She realized that she'd been sitting there and hadn't said anything when she felt Garrus' mandible flutter against her palm. The slight twitch caused by a sigh as he met her eyes.

"What's going on in that head of yours, Garrus," Jane finally asked. She tilted her head, her hair falling down over her shoulder as she stared at him.

"I don't know what to do, Jane," Garrus sighed again. "I've got this problem and there's no easy solution. I'm afraid to do anything because I don't want to make it worse."

"Want to talk about it?" Jane smiled. She knew what problem he was talking about, but this was common for them. It was sometimes easier to edge around the problem, keep it in the cross hairs, but not shoot it outright. Communicating was hard for them, still, but they were working on it.

Garrus chuckled, the sound coming from low in his chest, rumbling out.

"I don't even know where to start," He finally answered.

"The beginning?" Jane offered. "Or the middle if you'd prefer. Wherever is eas…"

Garrus' omni-tool pinged, cutting Jane off.

"Ugh!" Garrus growled.

"Callus?" Jane asked as she peered at his omni-tool.

"Who else would call me this early in the morning?" Garrus rolled his head back so he was looking to the sky. "Spirits give me strength," He whispered before looking back down at his omni-tool and answering the call.

"Do you know what time it is?" He growled as Callus' face floated above his wrist.

"One in the afternoon, sir," Callus replied quickly.

"…On Earth?"

"Oh! Oh, no! I didn't wake you, did I? Oh, Spirits, I'm so sorry Primach Vakarian," Callus babbled.

Jane covered her mouth with her hands, trying to stifle the laugh that was bubbling up her throat as Callus stuttered. But the moment he called Garrus "Primarch" the humor of the moment fell away. She shot up, leaning over Garrus' shoulder so she could look at Callus.

"Primarch?" She asked at the same time Garrus did.

"Yes," Callus looked between Jane and Garrus, not sure who to answer. "Didn't Councilor Victus tell you? His Primacy was always temporary, any Primarch appointed during war time is expected to step down once the fighting has ended, and you knew this, Sir."

"Well, sure, I know the laws," Garrus answered.

"And after a thorough accounting of all the clans, yours was next in line," Callus went on.

"But shouldn't my father take this position?" Garrus stared, flabbergasted at the turian on the other end of the call.

"He declined."

"He declined?" Jane gawked. "They can do that?"

"He stated his age as the reason," Callus went on. "He felt that someone younger and more adept in terms of galactic peace keeping—someone who had a positive relationship with the humans—would be better suited. He suggested you."

Jane was back to giggling.

"Adept at galactic peace keeping?" She snorted. "Garrus?" Another giggle.

Holding her stomach, Jane leaned away from Garrus to rest against the railing of the stairs while she chuckled.

He glared at her.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked her.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," She cleared her throat and tried to squelch the next round of giggles. "But…well…I did save you from three angry merc groups on Omega. Not a lot of peace being made there."

"This from you!" He shot back.

"Hey! I united the whole galaxy to fight the reapers." Jane pointed at Garrus, still smiling.

"With the barrel of your gun," Garrus reminded her.

"Not true! I used my biotics sometimes," She smiled sweetly at him then and he rolled his eyes.

"There is the matter of good relations with the humans, which you can't deny you _do_ have," Callus cut in. "You married one."

"And pissed off a lot of turians in the process," Jane pointed out. "Or was last night's showing just a practical joke?"

"What happened last night?" Callus asked.

"It's nothing," Garrus started to say but Jane spoke over him.

"A turian supremacy group attacked our home. Don't know how they got the address; we're still working on that."

"Spirits," Callus gasped. "Are you alright, sir?"

"It wasn't me they wanted dead," Garrus spat out. "So, yes, _I'm_ fine."

"Well if it wasn't you," Callus asked. "Then who?"

Jane poked her head back into the view of the camera and pointed at herself.

Callus' 'Oh' was barely audible and Garrus and Jane watched his face morph, his eyes bulging as he took in the implications of the attack.

After a moment of shock, Callus swallowed and went on.

"Okay, we need to get a security force out to you. These weren't the types of details I was expecting to go over with you right now, but it seems this is more important than the ceremony. We can talk about that more once you reach Palaven."

"I'm not going to Palaven," Garrus cut in. "And you aren't sending a security force."

"I can have a shuttle to your home within the hour, is that enough time for you and your wife to pack?" Callus went on as though Garrus hadn't said a word.

"We are not going to Palaven," Garrus repeated.

"One military unit should be enough to protect both of you, yes?" Callus wasn't even looking at the camera, and clicking could be heard just off screen.

"CALLUS!" Garrus barked.

"Yes?" The turian looked back to the camera.

"We are not going to Palaven." Garrus glared at the man as he repeated himself, again.

"Yes, you are," Callus answered. "The ceremony is always held on Palaven."

"Callus, we'll call you back," Jane said as she reached forward and tapped Garrus' omni-tool to end the call.

"I guess we could go after the baby is born," Jane spoke to Garrus after they were alone.

"No, that wouldn't work," Garrus turned to face Jane. "Laws say, with the exception of war time, the ceremony has to be held within a certain amount of time. Technically it's me accepting this title."

"There's a time limit?" Jane asked.

"Yes, it's an old law, back when clans still fought over who would be the next in line, they had a certain amount of time to prove they were next and then for the candidate from their clan to accept," Garrus waved his hand as though he was brushing away the whole thing. "It's stupid, especially since I haven't accepted yet."

"Well, so, decline it," Jane said. "If you don't want the position, don't take it. There's nothing that says you have to."

"Declining would shame my clan," Garrus tried to explain.

"But it didn't shame your clan when your father declined?" Jane was trying hard to understand this. She didn't want to see him take a position he didn't want to take.

"My father declined due to his age and he put me up as his successor, it's different. I don't have an offspring to name as successor so if I decline it's the end for my clan," Garrus sighed. "It's a great honor, Jane. As a young boy, I dreamed of being Primarch."

Sighing to herself, Jane reached forward and grabbed onto the railing to pull herself to standing. Garrus reached forward, putting a hand to her lower back and helping her up.

"Ugh," She groaned. "I can't wait to be able to stand up on my own, again."

"Almost done," Garrus murmured as he rubbed his hand against her stomach.

Jane patted his hand against her stomach then turned and walked back into the house. She had her empty cup in her hand and was heading for the kitchen.

"So, back to this Primarch thing," Jane said as she walked into the kitchen and poured herself another cup of tea then waddled over to one of the stools next to the island. "It would be a childhood dream come true?"

"When I was young I only saw the glory and the glamour," Garrus said with a shrug, filling his own cup before joining her. "Now, I know the truth."

"It's not all glitz and fancy parties," Jane nodded. "It's a big responsibility."

"Huge," Garrus agreed. "And yet, part of me wants to take it."

"So do it," Jane encouraged. "You'll do great."

Garrus gave a dismissive snort and Jane reached across the island, wrapping her fingers around his.

"You'd be a great leader."

"Like I was back on Omega?" Garrus looked down at their joined hands. "Everyone died, Jane. Remember? Everyone. And it was my fault."

"Part of what makes a leader great, Garrus, is that they've stumbled, they've made mistakes, they've had horrible things happen under their command, but they continued on anyway. They learn, and they take that knowledge and put it to good use," Jane squeezed his fingers. "Omega sucked, but you did everything you could, and you've learned from that."

"I don't know," Garrus started but Jane cut him off again.

"Remember the collector base?" Jane asked then continued when he nodded. "I wanted you at my back so bad, but I knew that wasn't what the mission needed. That second team needed a leader, and you were the man for the job."

"Well, your choices were pretty slim," Garrus huffed.

"No they weren't," Jane scowled at Garrus. "Zaeed's led men into combat, Thane would've done fine, and there was always Miranda, or Samara, or Tali. They all would've gotten the job done. But you, you didn't just get it done; you got every single one of them through there to the other side without a scratch on anyone."

Garrus rubbed the back of his neck.

"And what about Menae? Excuse me, Mr. Got-His-Own-Task-Force?"

"And what good was it? What good did I do?" He asked. "The reapers still overran Palaven and Menae."

"But not as quickly as they could have. How many turians were evacuated because you and your task force had made preparations?"

"I need to think about this," Garrus pulled his hand back from her and stood up. He walked over to the sink and deposited his cup. "I'm going to go make a call."

"Victus?" Jane asked just as Liara entered the kitchen.

"He's got some 'splainin' to do," Garrus said in his best impersonation of Rico from "I Love Lucy", an old Earth sit-com before he leaned down and pressed his forehead to Jane's.

"Be kind," Jane reminded him as she sat up and pecked a kiss on his mandible.

"Why? He just dumped this in my lap," Garrus chuckled again but gave in at her scowl. "Okay, okay, I'll only yell at him a little."

"Yell at whom?" James asked, entering the kitchen and making a bee line to Liara who was making a pot of coffee. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to drop a kiss on her neck and Jane hid her smile behind the rim of her cup as she watched the asari blush.

"Victus," Garrus said as he stepped away from Jane and headed out of the room.

"Isn't yelling at the Primarch a bad idea?" James directed his question toward Jane as he watched Garrus leave.

"Then Victus better not yell back," Garrus spoke up to be heard as he walked away.

"Did I miss something?" James asked as he started at the doorway out of the kitchen.

"Callus finally got a hold of him, I take it." Liara was leaning against the counter by the sink, waiting for the coffee pot to finish brewing.

"About ten minutes ago," Jane answered. "Did you know about this?"

"I may have heard something," Liara hedged. Jane just raised an eyebrow, as she took another sip of her tea.

"It wasn't my place, Jane," Liara answered Jane's unspoken question. "Just because I'm the ShadowBroker doesn't mean I'm going to go sticking my nose into everything."

"Actually," James spoke up from where he was bent over digging in the refrigerator. "Isn't that exactly what you do? Don't you have spies…"

"_Informants_," Liara corrected.

"…Fine, informants, in every major political organization or government in the galaxy?" James finished his original statement.

"No, James," Jane cut in. "It's fine. I understand what Liara is saying. Yes, she may have known this was coming, but it isn't her place to say anything. If she begins to meddle too much she will make her presence too known. It's better if she stays off the grid for the most part, only selling information where she needs to."

"If I arbitrarily give information out without it being requested I could give away my informants' positions. I would start to lose information. I have to keep a low profile, even among my friends," Liara added.

"Have you had information about me that you didn't share?" James asked. He was busy scrambling eggs while a frying pan heated up on the stove top.

"Nothing of great importance," Liara answered honestly. "I knew about your promotion before you did, but I didn't tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise."

"My job is to keep tabs on the galaxy, filing away information that may be useful, but never getting openly involved," Liara continued. "I lose my credibility if it starts to look like I favor one organization or government more than another."

"You knew?" James asked, still stuck on the fact she knew about his promotion.

"How do you think your uncle and grandmother made it to the Citadel in time?" Liara answered his question with one of her own.

James set the bowl of eggs he'd been beating down on the counter and walked across the kitchen until he was right in front of Liara.

"The last minute passage you found them from Earth to the Citadel…" He began.

"I'd booked that a few weeks prior," Liara was blushing again, staring down at her feet as she spoke to him. "But I swear that was the only thing I kept from yo….ah!"

Her sentence cut off with a squeak of surprise as James wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and kissing her soundly on the mouth.

"Thank you!" He said against her lips before kissing her again.

_Okay, Jane, time to get out of here before you see more than you want to, _Jane thought to herself as she hopped off her seat. She turned off the burner under the frying pan before quickly waddling out of the kitchen and heading for her bedroom.


	8. Chapter 8

_Then Victus better not yell back, _Garrus had said in regards to James' comment about it being a bad idea to yell at the Primach. Apparently Victus had heard him as well, because the older turian hadn't raised his voice at all through the call, even as Garrus railed at him. He was upset that Victus hadn't warned him. He knew that Victus' Primacy was coming to an end, and that there was a possibility—slim, but still a possibility—that his clan could be next in line, but he thought that his friend would've at least given him a heads up.

Victus had allowed him to vent, had heard him out, and then had promptly told him to "grow a fucking quad."

Garrus chuckled as he sat in the basement, dismantling his sniper rifle at his work table while he reflected on his conversation with Victus.

_"This isn't about you, Garrus," Victus had growled. "It was never about me, and it's not about you. Stop taking this personally. This is about the Turian people as a whole. Neither of us is a perfect turian, and maybe an imperfect turian, one who has the—oh how would your human friend put it, cajones?—to marry a human, to allow her to be impregnated with another man's seed so that they could have a child is the only person able to bring peace to the hearts of our people. The turian people need to see someone strong, someone who isn't afraid to embrace change. You walked through hell for our people, but you're afraid to lead them?"_

_ "I didn't have a choice in that," Garrus reminded Victus. "Jane was walking into hell and I'd be damned if my mate was going to face whatever awaited her without me at her back."_

_ Victus had only smiled when Garrus brought Jane up. Unbeknownst to Garrus, he'd just proven Victus' point._

_ "You'll do fine, Garrus," Victus had reassured him._

_ Garrus had given a snort at that. Yeah, he'd do fine. Why did everyone else believe that, but he couldn't._

_ "You'd be a horrible leader if you didn't question your abilities," Victus answered and Garrus realized he'd spoken out loud. "I take it you already talked to Jane about this."_

_ Garrus had gone on to explain that Jane had been sitting next to him when Callus called so she found out at the same time he did. When Victus asked what Jane's thoughts on it were, Garrus answered honestly. She would support any choice he made, like she always did. _

_ "Are you honestly thinking of declining this?" Victus finally asked._

_ Garrus shrugged before answering. "What happens to Jane if I take this? She can't spend any significant amount of time on Palaven, and when our children are young they won't be able to spend any time there, so when I'm called home for Sessions I'll have to leave my family behind. She will have to raise our children alone." _

_ "That bothers you." It was a statement, not a question, but Garrus answered it as though it was._

_ "Of course it bothers me!" He growled. "My father was always gone, working on the Citadel with C-sec or within the military when I was young. I wanted him home, I saw how hard it was on my mother to miss him, to shoulder the burden of raising children alone, of making every major decision on her own, and I don't want to put Jane through that. I remember what it felt like to miss my father, to wish he was there, to regret the times he came home because they would never be long enough. I don't want to put my children through that!" _

_ Garrus paused to catch his breath and felt a pain in his chest he hadn't felt in a long time. He barely registered Victus' thoughtful hum before he continued._

_ "Do you know how hard it was to be the son of Alitus Vakarian?" Garrus asked quietly. "War hero, C-Sec executor, all around perfect turian, and I was his son. I don't want my son to resent that he was born the son of the Primach like I resented being my father's son. I don't want him to have to question his every action, to wonder if following his dreams will bring shame to his name."_

Garrus stared down at the rifle pieces in front of him, realizing he'd barely been concentrating on the task at hand as he thought about his conversation with Victus and the true implications of what he'd said.

_"Have you told your mate about these fears?" Victus had asked him when Garrus had confessed his fears for his son._

_ "I don't know how," Garrus sighed, his shoulders slumping further, his head bowed, and his subharmonics rumbling quietly with apprehension, fear, and confusion. _

_ "May I give some advice, not as a citizen to the Primarch, but as a friend?" Victus had asked, his subharmonics humming respect and compassion._

_ "Please," Garrus had begged, desperate for any advice._

_ "Tell her everything you just told me. Lay it all out in front of her," Victus began but Garrus cut him off._

_ "I can't do that! She's going through enough with the pregnancy, she's under enough stress from the paparazzi, she doesn't need my insecurities as well," Garrus growled. _

_ "Boy, you are so young," The older turian had growled, moving closer to the camera as he shifted in his chair. "Shut up and listen for a minute."_

_ "Years ago," Victus had begun. "I received some advice that I didn't understand until it was almost too late. I'm giving it to you, now, and I hope you realize it's importance sooner than I did. The advice came from a human—of all things. It was about twenty years ago," Victus stopped, gathering his thoughts for a moment and sighing. "I was sitting alone in a Citadel café and this man came up to me. He sat down across from me at the table and just watched me. He didn't seem hostile and I was too wrapped up in my thoughts to really care about him, so I ignored him, figuring he was just a lost human who'd never seen a turian up close before. Suddenly he spoke:_

_ 'What has you so troubled?' he'd asked me, jerking me out of my thoughts._

_ 'My mate,' I'd answered without thinking. This human just had an air around him that calmed me, but I didn't know why. It was a puzzle. Anyway, he stared at me a moment longer before asking again._

_ 'Are you newly mated?' _

_ 'About a year, but we've been friends for much longer.'_

_ 'So you know her well?'_

_ 'I thought I did.'_

_ 'What changed?' _

_ 'I impregnated her.'_

_ The man had thrown his head back, then, laughing loudly. _

_ 'Some things are the same no matter the species, then,' The man said when he calmed down."_

_ Victus paused there to laugh as he thought back on the exchange with this odd human._

_ "Anyway," Victus started back up again. "I relayed to him that I was worried about our child. I was worried about my mate and about our lives as a whole and the man asked me why I was sitting in a café, alone, when I should be with my mate. He asked why I was telling him, a total stranger, what I should be telling my mate, and I growled at him because he obviously didn't understand. I was her mate; I was supposed to be strong. What sort of mate would I be if I burdened her with my own worries when she was pregnant, when her body was already so stressed? He laughed at me again._

_ 'Another thing our species have in common,' the man had chuckled. 'Allow me to give you some advice, young turian, go to your mate, talk to her about your worries, share with her your fears as much as you share your strength and you will find that you both will be stronger for it.'_

_ "So, did you?" Garrus interrupted to ask._

_ "Not at first," Victus looked away from the camera, presumably looking at the picture of his mate that he kept on his desk. "I didn't understand how sharing my fears would make both of us stronger. It wasn't until weeks later, when I was again sitting alone in that café, at this point my mate had gone back to Palaven to be with her family, that I realized what he meant. Something Viona said kept pinging around in my brain. The last thing she'd screamed at me before she walked out of our apartment and left me drove the man's point home. _

_ 'You never talk to me, Adrian!' Viona screamed. 'How can I tell you how I feel when you don't tell me anything? You sit there, surrounding yourself with your blasted turian pride, hiding behind your strength, but you're weak. You can't even trust me!' _

_ "I never thought she'd take my silence, my lack of communication, to mean that I didn't trust her. I thought she knew that I was trying not to burden her. By keeping my fears to myself I had caused more doubt within her. By being strong, by trying to protect her I had done nothing more than hurt her." _

_ "Spirits," Garrus had gasped. _

_ "Talk to Jane. There is no shame in showing your mate your weaknesses. We vow to give our whole self to our mates in a moment of happiness, but its times like now that our vows are tested. Do you have the strength to show your mate that you are weak?"_

Garrus set the scope he'd been modding down on his work table and shot up from the stool he'd been sitting on.

_Oh spirits!_ He thought to himself. He'd been doing to Jane exactly what Adrian did to Viona. He had been pulling away for fear of hurting Jane physically, he'd been bottling up his fears to as not to burden her, and in the end she doubted her ability to please him as her mate. She doubted his ability to trust her. And yet, she still believed he would be a great leader. Even with all her doubts about her own abilities—doubts he was solely responsible for causing—she still believed in him.

With that realization banging around in his skull he ran up the stairs to find his mate, to reassure the woman who had his heart wrapped around her little finger, that he did trust her, that he did want her, and to beg her to forgive his stupidity.

Yes, he did have the strength to be weak in front of Jane.

* * *

Jane froze in her tracks as she stepped out of the bathroom. She had a towel wrapped around her body, another in her hands as she squeezed and rubbed the water out of her hair. Sitting at the foot of their bed, staring directly at the bathroom door, was Garrus.

"Garrus?" Jane asked. Something was different about the look in his eyes, there was a determination there that she hadn't seen in a while.

"Do you remember what I said when I gave you this?" Garrus asked, holding up Jane's wedding band, the head stone glistening in the sunlight pouring through their bedroom window.

"Of course," Jane answered, remembering their wedding day. They'd stood on the beach; the white sand sparkling around them, as Garrus had carefully spoke the traditional Christian vows that Jane had always dreamed of hearing. Granted, her dreams hadn't always had a turian in them, but dreams changed as a person grew.

"It would seem I didn't really understand them at the time,' Garrus murmured as he stood up from the bed and walked toward her.

Jane stood frozen in her spot watching as Garrus stalked toward her. He was the graceful apex predator she'd met on the Citadel years ago, standing to his full height, his shoulders set back, his back straight and when he finally reached her he dropped to his knees, shocking a gasp from her.

"Garrus?" She wanted to ask him what he was doing, why he was before her in such a submissive posture, one she knew no turian would ever take unless there was good reason, but the words froze in her throat.

He reached forward, taking her left hand in his, running his talons along the tops of her fingers as he slipped the band up her fourth finger. Just as it passed over her second knuckle he looked up at her and whispered those vows again.

"I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life."

Jane sniffled as she felt tears welling behind her eyes. She didn't understand what had gotten into him, but he was yanking at her already tender emotions, bringing them to their knees and her with them.

She reached for him, pulling him up to his feet and wrapped her arms around his neck, the tears streaming down her cheeks and onto the plates of his chest.

"I'm so sorry," Garrus whispered, holding her close as he ran his hand down her damp hair, carefully threading his talons through the strands, parting the curls and watching them wind around his digits.

"Forgive me, Jane," He begged. "Forgive me for not trusting you. Forgive me for being a stubborn idiot."

"What are you talking about, Garrus?" Jane asked pulling her tear streaked face from his chest to stare up at him in confusion.

"Turians place so much importance on keeping up the image of strength, even in the face of uncertainty," Garrus tried to explain.

"I know that, Garrus," Jane smiled. "I married a turian, remember?"

"Heh," Garrus chuckled, his subharmonics pitching higher into levels of embarrassment. If he could, he'd be blushing. "So you did."

"But what does that have to do with anything? What brought on this rush of guilt? I'm not saying that what you just did wasn't romantic as hell—because it was—but I just don't understand," Jane said, running her hand down his chest, letting her nails drag along the crevices between the plates, scratching lightly at the hide below. She felt a low rumble starting in his chest, and smiled to herself.

"You mentioned last night that I've been cold with you, withdrawn. Liara said that you felt neglected, unwanted, that you thought the way your body was changing was turning me off to you," He broke off with a sigh, burying his face in her neck and breathing in her scent—sweet but tangy, clean—and let his hand trace down her curves, stopping when he reached her distended stomach. He felt lust burn in his abdomen, his plates shifting, and couldn't stop the groan that rushed out of him.

"I never meant for you to feel that way," He whispered into her neck. "I've been withdrawn but not because I don't want you. I've been stuck in my own head, in my own fears. Things I should've brought to you."

Tired of standing, and wanting to feel her body closer to his, Garrus leaned down and swept Jane off her feet and into his arms. He smiled as she squealed, tightening her arms around his neck.

"Garrus! Put me down, you're going to hurt yourself. I'm too heavy," Jane protested.

"You're perfect," He growled, holding her close as he walked back to the only piece of furniture in their room that they could both sit on—the bed. He held her tightly as he maneuvered himself onto the bed, scooting backwards until his back was against the headboard and she was sitting in his lap.

Once he was comfortable, his arms wrapped around her waist, his hands meeting on the sides of her stomach, cradling their child, he pressed his forehead against her temple and continued with his confession.

"Jane," He sighed then took a deep breath to gather his courage. "I'm afraid."

"Of what?" Jane asked, pulling back so she could look at him.

"What if I'm a horrible father?" Garrus asked. "Our son is going to be human, I'm turian. What if I don't connect with him? What if we never get that father/son connection? What if he resents that he is our child?"

"Oh, Garrus," Jane felt tears welling up in her eyes again, her heart breaking for her husband, her mate. "You're going to be a wonderful father. You already love him more than most human father's love their unborn children."

"But I'm barely going to be here," He continued. "You can't spend a lot of time on Palaven because of the radiation, and while our children are young they won't be able to even step onto the planet. When my duty as Primach calls me back to Palaven you'll be here alone."

"We'll make it work, Garrus," Jane stroked a hand over his mandible, soothing him. "Vidcalls, holomessages, puzzles, letters, I'll send you pictures. We'll make it work. Military families have been doing it for centuries. I'm sure the first human Spectre and her husband—the Turian Primarch can overcome this challenge."

"And then there's that," Garrus leaned into her hand. "What if the council revokes your Spectre status because of my appointment to Primarch?"

"What if they do?" Jane asked.

"Wouldn't that upset you?" Garrus asked, shocked that she wasn't distraught at the idea.

"Garrus, I've been expecting them to call and tell me that my status was revoked since I announced that I was pregnant. I'm okay with that. I have everything I want right here," Jane responded, pressing her hand over his against her stomach. "If they revoke my Spectre status then I'll just be Jane Vakarian, the Primarch's mate."

"You honor me more than I deserve," Garrus whispered reverently as he leaned in to press his forehead against Jane's. "What did I ever do for the Spirits to bring you into my life?"

"You were in the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess," Jane joked, giggling as Garrus pulled her closer, shifting his head and pressing his face into her neck.

He ran his tongue up her neck until he came to her earlobe, flicking it lightly before speaking into it, "I want you, Jane."

He let out a sinister chuckle as she shivered on his lap.

"I yearn for you," He groaned into her ear as his hands started to roam over her body, pushing the towel out of his way. He cupped her breasts as he shifted underneath her, letting her feel how she affected him.

Jane gasped as she felt his shifting plates under her bottom. She ground down against them, letting out her own breathy laugh as he thrust up against her, growling as he starting nipping at her neck. He slid his tongue over each little nip, soothing the abused skin as she threw her head back, her hair falling down to his thighs, the ends tickling the sensitive flesh between his plates.

Moving quickly, he shifted their position, pushing her firmly, but gently, back against the mattress before kneeling between her thighs. He started at her lips, pressing his mouth against hers, snaking his tongue out to lap at her lips until she opened for him and let him slip inside. Their tongues dueled.

As they kissed he took notice of the way her body had changed in the past weeks. It felt like the baby was lower, her stomach meeting with his abdomen, no longer pressing against his lower ribs. He held his weight off of her with one hand pressed into the mattress while the other wandered down her body, stopping to cup her breast, massaging it gently. He pulled away from the kiss to watch as she arched into his palm. Her breasts were red, swollen, and more sensitive than he remembered.

She let out another moan, panting as he ran the pad of his thumb over her nipple, watching it shrink into a tight pearl. He swiped at it again, massaging her breast as he did and was shocked when he felt wetness against his thumb. He repeated his earlier action, massaging and rubbing over her nipple and she gasped, arching her back off the bed as she whimpered.

"So responsive," He murmured as he trailed his tongue across her collarbone and down her chest to her nipple. He flicked the tiny nub of flesh, tasting the clear liquid. It was sticky and sweet.

"Garrus!" She ran her hand over his fringe, threading her fingers in the spaces between the individual pieces of fringe until she was squeezing them between her fingers.

She knew how to set his blood on fire. As she curled her fingers within his fringe, scratching at the underneath while squeezing and clenching her fingers, he had to pull away from her breast to stop himself from biting down on the tender flesh. He was panting as he came back up to her mouth, pressing against her lips hard enough to bruise them and thrusting his tongue into her mouth aggressively while his hand headed further south, talons scraping lightly along her side until he reached her hip.

As his hand moved to her thigh, wrapping around it gently and pulling her leg up and around his waist she tugged at his fringe, pulling her mouth free from his to gasp his name.

"Garrus," She groaned as he arched his hips, his erection fully unsheathed from his plates.

"Oh, God," She moaned, throwing her head back against the mattress as he ground against her slowly, the only barrier between them was his pants and he was cursing himself for not removing them when he'd come into their room.

"Garrus, please," She whimpered, panting. "Stop."

"Stop?" His pelvis ground into her further as his brain tried to wrap around the idea that she was denying him.

"Please, you need to….oh fuck," She whimpered as he angled himself just right so the tip of his erection was pressing against her clit through his pants.

"Come for me, Jane," He leaned forward, his mouth against her ear again; his voice dropping an octave into a register he knew drove her wild. "I want to hear you scream my name."

"Garrus," She begged. "Please, stop. No, no! You need to...Oh Christ." She was throwing her head back and forth against the bed, panting and gasping but finally her words made it through the fog of lust saturating his brain.

"Why?" He growled, stopping his grinding, holding perfectly still. "What's wrong, Jane?"

"Dr. Chakwas," Jane gasped out, trying to catch her breath. "Bed rest… Cardiac rest… Not supposed to get excited…Not safe for the baby."

"What?" He pushed his arms into the mattress, shoving himself up so he was looming over her. He was panting, so close to coming simply from the friction of grinding against her. It had been far too long since he'd felt her wrapped around him, constricting, pulsing. And now she was saying they couldn't.

"Dr. Chakwas says I need to stay calm, try to keep my heart rate and blood pressure low. I was having mild contractions last night, possibly caused by the excitement of the attack," Jane was trying to explain as she continued to pant.

Contractions. The word cut through the fog surrounding his brain. If only it would also calm his raging libido and hard on. He pulled away from Jane, moving up to his knees as he looked down on her.

"Contractions?" He asked. "Why wasn't I told?"

"Karin said she sent you a copy of the results as well as some literature on what it all meant. She gave me a shot that stopped the contractions, I'm not dilated and she said that all other scans showed that the baby is fine, but agitated."

Garrus pulled up his omni-tool, opening his messages and, sure enough, there was the message from Dr. Chakwas. A quick scan showed him everything that Jane had just said. Thinking back to the night before, when they'd both been busy, he remembered his omni-tool alerting him to a message, but he didn't open it right away. Curse him! The one time he doesn't read his messages right when they came in. And by the time he finally got to bed, Jane was asleep.

This morning he'd been so worried about talking to her about what she'd said before Chakwas had examined her that he'd forgotten to ask about the examination.

"Fuck!" He snarled.

"I wish we could," Jane grumbled. "I was already so turned on it hurt before we started playing around. Now I'm ready to shoot something."

Garrus pushed off the mattress, panting as he paced away from the bed where the sweet smell of Jane's arousal was working to make him forget why he couldn't take her this instant. He headed for the bathroom, stripping out of his pants as he went. Once there he stepped into the shower, slammed the faucet to the left and waited for the water to turn icy.

There was a part of him that wanted to be angry at Jane. She should've said something. But then he realized that he was placing blame on her as an excuse for his own oversights. He should've read that message when it came in. He should've stuck around until Chakwas was done examining Jane. He should've stayed in the room with her instead of letting the doctor shove him away from his mate.

"Hey, big guy?" Jane asked from outside the shower. "Got space for one more in there? I think I need to cool down, too."

"Jane," Garrus growled through the glass door. "That is not a good idea right now."

"Open the door, Garrus," Jane demanded.

Garrus sighed as he pressed his head against the cold tiles of the shower stall. She was going to be the death of him. He wasn't sure he could handle being in such close proximity to her with them both still so aroused.

Gritting his teeth, setting his mandibles against his face, he adjusted the water until it was warmer and then opened the shower door to admit Jane.

"Just so we're clear," He gritted out. "This is a very bad idea."

"Trust me, Garrus," Jane murmured as she moved closer to him, rubbing her body against his. "The orders said I couldn't get excited. They said nothing about you."

"I don't…oooh," Garrus started to protest but the words were lost as he felt her fingers closing around his erection. He moaned and thrust into her hand, wrapping one arm around her to pull her closer while bracing the other against the wall.

"Let me take care of you," Jane murmured as she pressed against him, letting her lips and tongue slide over every part of him that she could reach. She steadily pumped her hand, squeezing tightly at the base, grinding the heel of her hand against the slit in his plates before moving her hand up to his tip, teasing over the crown of his erection with the tip of her thumb before dragging her hand back down his length.

"Oh, Spirits," Garrus groaned, shifting until he was leaning against the wall of the shower. She aligned herself so one of his legs was between hers, her slick folds sliding against the rough plates there.

She kept her pace slow but steady, applying pressure where he needed it, backing off at the more sensitive tip, and soon Garrus was panting, his hips pushing forward, rocking against her, pushing himself into her hand faster, harder.

"Spirits, Jane," He gasped, leaning forward to kiss her, slipping his tongue into her mouth to slide against hers, miming with their mouths what he wished he could do with other parts of their anatomy. He noticed that Jane was rocking her hips against his, grinding down onto this thigh and he grabbed her hips with his hands.

"No," He hissed. "No exertion, remember."

"Garrus," She snarled, biting the tip of his mandible when he pulled his mouth from hers. "Trust me, my heart rate is fine."

"Trust me," He repeated her earlier words before flexing his thigh muscles, causing the plates there to shift and rub against her, even though she wasn't moving. She whimpered, fidgeting against his hands as she tried to grind down against him.

When she realized she wasn't getting free from him, she decided to get even, pumping her hand faster, applying a bit more pressure, and pushing him closer to the edge. Each time he flexed his hips to thrust into her hand his thigh would rub against her, causing her to moan or gasp. She could tell he was close as his movements became jerky; his head falling forward to rest against her shoulder, and his breathing was choppy, sawing in and out of his lungs. She turned her head slightly, angling so she knew he'd hear her and whispered, "Come for me, Garrus."

"Jane," He gasped, pressing his face against her neck, nipping lightly as his hips pistoned against her hand. She tightened her fist, squeezing rhythmically.

"I want to hear you come, baby," She punctuated her demand with a moan of her own as he flexed his thigh, grinding against her even though she wasn't able to move.

A few more jerky thrusts later and he was coming, moaning her name into his neck as his body jerked and he gasped for air. She continued stroking him, wringing every groan and growl out of him until he was begging her to go easy on him.

She hadn't come with him, unfortunately, but it wasn't a risk they could take. Her heart rate would soar with her orgasm and even though the chance was minimal that it could cause her to go into labor, neither of them was willing to take those odds.

They washed each other under the now lukewarm water, their hands slipping and sliding over the other's body, relearning the planes and angles, dips and curves, that neither had explored in over a month. Afterward, Garrus stepped out first, handing a towel to Jane so she could dry her hair while he dried his body then he wrapped a second towel around her body and swept her up into his arms.

"Garrus, I can walk," She protested weakly as she set her head against his shoulder.

"Bed rest, remember," He reminded her. "And, anyway, I like carrying you."

"It's your back's funeral."

She covered her yawn with the back of her hand but he noticed.

"Tired?" He asked, nuzzling her hair.

"Mm-hmm," She hummed, dozing off in his arms before he made it to the bed.

With a smile he climbed into the bed, never setting her down. He pulled the comforter them, tucking the blanket around her body as she muttered in her sleep and rubbed her face against the pillow between her cheek and his shoulder.

"Sweet dreams, Jane."


	9. Chapter 9

Author's note: In an odd change of pace, this one shot is basically light, fluffy, and super sweet.

* * *

Their home was beautiful. A small ranch, much older than most homes in the neighborhood, but well taken care of. There were wild flowers growing along the walk way up to the patio that spanned the front of the house.

She stepped onto the patio, straightening her jacket and running her hand over her hair one last time before she reached out a hand and knocked on the door. A few moments later _he_ opened the door.

"Ms. Laurens?" Garrus Vakarian asked.

"Yes," she responded.

"Welcome." He nodded to her before stepping aside and allowing her into their home.

There house was a buzz of excitement. People were coming and going, moving from one room to the next like a tornado, and in the center of the storm was Jane. She was perched on the couch in the living room, her back propped up against one arm rest and her legs resting on a fat pillow.

"Please excuse the chaos," Garrus said from behind her. "We had a bit of a mishap over the weekend and we're trying to get everything cleaned up."

_Mishap?_ She thought to herself. This was something she'd have to ask about. She mentally added it to her interview notes.

"I could come back," She offered politely, though she really hoped that he didn't take her up on it.

"No, really, it's okay. You made this appointment weeks ago," Garrus waved her offer away. "Besides, I don't see it getting any calmer around here any time soon."

"I'm sure you're right. Babies tend to cause a stir," She agreed with a smile.

"So does getting shot at."

She wasn't an expert at turian facial expressions by any means, but the sparkle in his eye's let her know he was smiling. Was he joking about getting shot at? He and Jane were both soldiers, perhaps that was what it was about. Maybe he was comparing the upcoming arrival of their child to preparing for a fight.

"You're joking, right?" She asked.

"Not so much," He continued on into the house, moving into the living room and leaving her staring, dumbfounded, at his retreating back.

"Ms. Laurens?"

Hearing her name being called brought her back to reality. She looked around, trying to find who'd called her.

"Over here," The voice called again. "The invalid on the couch!"

She saw Jane smiling from her spot in the center of the chaos. Garrus had joined Jane, moving the pillow and replacing it with his lap. As she watched them, he ran a finger up the bottom of her foot, causing her to jump then lean forward to swat him. It seemed so domestic, something any couple would do. Is this the same couple that had saved the galaxy? Was that the same woman who'd ended the reapers? It was hard to believe that barely a year ago they'd been standing on a beach saying their vows. She'd been there, of course, but she'd been an assistant at the time. This was her first major story, her first chance at the 'big time.' She was so nervous her hands were shaking.

Taking a deep breath she worked her way across the room, dodging as someone came through carrying a cot and almost knocked into her.

"Vega!" Jane barked. "Be careful!"

The man carrying the cot turned, again barely missing her, and apologized before he went on his way.

"I'm really sorry about him," Jane leaned forward and stuck out her hand as she came closer.

"I'm Jane," Jane introduced herself and shook her hand. "And you've met my husband. You look familiar. Where do I know you from?"

She was just about to answer when Jane cut in. "Were you at the wedding?"

"Yes, ma'am," She smiled. She couldn't believe that Jane had remembered. She was a nobody, just a little assistant running around behind her supervisor, carrying his water and a note pad at the time.

"I thought so. So, what's your name?"

"Sara Laurens," She answered.

"Sara," Jane said. "Pretty name. Why don't you have a seat."

Sara looked around the room. There was the couch against the wall, which was occupied by Jane and Garrus, and that seemed to be the only piece of furniture. She looked into the kitchen and saw the stools tucked under the island counter top, but before she could take a step to retrieve one Jane spoke up again.

"Vega!" She barked and the man who'd been carrying the cot earlier came running up from the basement.

"Damn it, Jane," He huffed, out of breath. "Would you stop barking at me."

"Of course, I'd love to. Here, let me just get off this couch and walk over to the door way and calmly call you," Jane's tone was dripping with sarcasm. She started to swing her legs off her husband's lap, but he quickly grabbed them, bringing them back.

"Stay," Garrus growled, barely audible over the noise of carpenters in the kitchen and whatever was going on in the basement.

"You know the more you yell the more you'll raise your blood pressure and heart rate, and that's what got you into this position," Vega said. "If you want the doctor to revoke your bed rest orders, you should at least try not to stress the baby out more."

"Low blow," Jane responded. "Where'd you put the armchair? Sara needs some place to sit."

"I'll go get it." He walked out of the room, heading into the hallway that Sara assumed led to the bedrooms.

He returned moments later carrying a large chair. With a grunt he set it down across from the couch.

"Okay, I'm off to the basement to make sure everyone gets settled. Holler if you need me, you know how to do that, right?" He asked sarcastically.

"I think we'll manage," Jane sniped back while motioning for Sara to take a seat, which she did.

She pulled out a small omni-tool from her briefcase as well as a note pad before setting the case next to the chair.

"Do you mind if I record the interview?" She asked.

"Do you mind if we do?" Garrus asked in response.

"Not at all." Sara knew they'd been having trouble with reporters and journalists slandering them and tearing down their relationship since they'd announced their engagement. The announcement that they were expecting their first child had only ramped up the smear campaign that some news programs were heading.

"I understand you've had some trouble with reporters and journalists in the past," She explained. "And I want this to go as smoothly for you as possible. I promise you will receive a copy of the final piece before it is put to print, and it will only be printed if it has your consent."

She'd received a call from Admiral Hackett a few days prior explaining that he was tired of the lies and innuendos flying around the press about the 'two best soldier's the galaxy has ever known'-to use his words exactly, and that if she thought that she would get to add her name to that list she was sorely mistaken. What the Admiral didn't know, of course, was that she has always been a strong supporter of their relationship. She was younger than them, both having been born during, or soon their after, the First Contact War, or Relay 314 Incident-it's title depended on who you were talking to-while she had only learned about the War in her history classes in school. She knew about the animosity between their races, but she didn't understand it. It was old news, buried under years and years of headlines, and as far as she was concerned that was where it could stay.

"That's nice to hear," Jane smiled. "But you'll forgive me if I don't believe it. Your actions will speak for you, Sara."

"Understood, Commander."

"Nope," Jane shook her head. "I'm retired now, I'm not Commander Shepard anymore. Just call me Jane, or Mrs. Vakarian-though that makes me feel old. Lets just stick with Jane."

"Wow, that's a strong opinion to something so simple, Jane. Is there any reason why you're shucking your title within the Alliance military?" Sara asked after setting her omni-tool to record.

"Nothing specific," Jane answered. "I'm proud of what I did. I'm unbelievably proud of the people I served with, of what we accomplished..."

"Of destroying the reapers?" Sara cut in.

"Yes, of that. Though I didn't do that alone. That was something the whole galaxy did. We joined together to take down a common enemy. I may have helped get everyone in the same place at the same time, but I am, by no means, the sole destroyer of the reapers."

Jane paused for a moment to take a breath and reached toward her husband, wrapping her hand around his and squeezing before she went on.

"I know that's what I'll be remembered for, I know that the books will write me as some reaper killing hero, but that's not who I am. I guess that's why I want people, now, to stop using my rank. I'm just a person, no different than you are. What I did was important, but what I'm doing now, to me, is just as important if not more so. I'm starting a family, I'm rebuilding, just like the whole galaxy."

"I would say," Sara continued. "It definitely sounds like you're rebuilding. Is this just normal remodeling? Getting ready for the baby? Nesting as some would call it?"

Sara gestured around to the construction crew as well as the Alliance soldiers who were walking in and out of the house.

"No, we are not remodeling in that regard, by choice, this is in response to a small mishap over the weekend," Jane answered.

"Can you talk about it?"

"I don't see why not," Garrus answered this time. "We were attacked. Apparently it's not just the news and gossip magazines who don't appreciate our relationship or that we're starting a family. Sadly, a turian supremacy group-yes, we have them too-decided to take matters into their own hands."

"They attacked your home?" Sara couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Yes," Garrus answered while his wife nodded away next to him.

"What did you do?"

"Defended ourselves," Jane explained.

"You defended yourself," Garrus cut in, turning his gaze to his wife. "And it's why you're stuck on bed rest. Not exactly your brightest idea, Jane."

"And what should I have done?" She shot back. "Curl up in a ball and hope you and Vega made it back here before one of them got in the house and shot me?"

"There's a big difference between 'cowering in a corner' and 'hand to hand combat with an armed terrorist'," Garrus pointed out.

"I'm not living that down any time soon, am I?" Jane looked honestly embarrassed as her husband glared at her.

"When I can close my eyes without reliving that moment, that's when we can drop it," Garrus patted her shins as he spoke.

Sara bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning as she watched the two bicker. It was obvious that Garrus wasn't happy with what had happened, but that was no different than any other relationship. They were bickering about what he thought was a poor choice she'd made, and that was completely normal. What made it abnormal was that the poor choice happened to be made in a combat situation, something most couples didn't find themselves in.

"I apologized," Jane went on.

"Yes, you did," Garrus sighed. "Doesn't make the nightmares go away, though."

"You? Nightmares? I thought that was just a waste of perfectly good sleep," Jane's tone was teasing.

"Prior to you deciding we should live a 'normal' life, that was the case. But then we decided to get married and have a child and I haven't had a peaceful nights sleep since."

Sara sat back in the chair and watched the two of them as they interacted. She'd come with a neatly drawn out plan of action, she had questions she wanted to ask them, questions her readers had sent in, but as she watched Jane and Garrus Vakarian tease each other about sleep patterns and bottle nipples-how'd they end up on that topic?-she found it hard to interrupt.

* * *

It was hours later, all of her questions were answered, and yet she was still there. At some point they'd moved from the living room to the kitchen and she and Jane were sitting on the stools at the island while Garrus was preparing dinner.

"He's an unbelievable cook," Jane said. "You wouldn't expect it, especially with the levo/dextro thing, but it's true."

"Jane, stop," Garrus said from his spot at the stove. He was stirring a pot of sauce and didn't even look up at them. "You'll make me blush."

"Really? Wait, complementing your cooking? That's all I have to do?" Jane gasped.

"You have no idea how long I've been trying to get this man to blush," Jane said to Sara. "I mean, have you ever seen a turian blush? I haven't. All my years in space, all my time among aliens, I've never seen a turian blush. I've seen asari blush-they're so much fun to tease-even seen a krogan blush, but a turian? Nope. Not even a hint of a blush. Not even a smidge of embarrassment. They're un-embarrassable."

"That's not a word, Jane," Garrus chuckled. "And that's not true. You've embarrassed me. Remember when you made me dance with you?"

"No blush," She said.

"Sorry," He apologized, but was smiling.

"Maybe it has to do with their lack of facial expressions," Sara said, thinking out loud.

"Huh?" Jane turned to her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, they use sub harmonics to express feelings because they have so few facial expressions, maybe the blushing thing is the same. Maybe you've made him 'blush' tons of times, but because humans can't hear the sub harmonics, you never knew."

"Garrus," Jane turned back to him, her tone accusatory. "Is this true?"

"I plead the fifth," He carried a pot of boiling noodles to the sink, drained the water off them, and returned the pot to the stove top.

"I really need one of those implants like Vega has," Jane grumbled. "You're having emotions that I don't know about. There is embarrassment being had right under my ears!"

"Over, actually," Garrus corrected her. He was plating up dinner now. "Most emotions, like embarrassment, shame, and unease are vocalized in a range higher than human ears can hear."

"Bah!" Jane threw her hands up. "I can't believe I never thought of the sub harmonic thing."

Garrus came over, chuckling quietly as he placed two plates of fettuccine alfredo in front of them. As he was placing Jane's plate, he leaned down, nuzzling his face against her hair. Jane reached up, wrapping her fingers around his cowl and kept him in place as she tipped her head back and pressed her forehead to his. Just before she released his cowl she sat up and kissed him then let him retrieve his own dinner.

They sat like that for hours, even after the food was eaten, just chatting. Sara felt more like a friend over for a visit than the journalist she was. At the end of the evening, she gathered up her briefcase, her omni-tool, and her notepad, said her good byes and promised to stop by again before slipping out the front door and walking to her sky-car.

* * *

A month later, Garrus and Jane were cuddled on the couch flipping through a magazine on his datapad when they came to an article written by Ms. Sara Laurens.

They both held their breath as they read through the article. She answered every question that her fans had written in with about their relationship and the upcoming arrival of their son. At the end of the article, she wrote a note to her readers, it was simple, yet profound.

_"Garrus and Jane Vakarian can be called many things. Turian, human, sniper, biotic, Commander, C-sec officer turned vigilante, reaper killers, saviors of the galaxy, but if you strip every one of those titles away all you're left with is one. The most important one. _

_Partners. _

_ One day, I will have children, and I will, like every other parent, tell them the story of how I met their father-or if I'm so lucky as to bond with an asari, their mother-but I will never have such a fantastical tale of love conquering all as Jane and Garrus Vakarian. And I hope that when my daughter picks someone to look up to as a role model, that she picks Jane. I know when she asks me to tell her a story about a knight saving the princess, I will tell their tale, though the knight will carry a sniper rifle, be wearing blue armor, and an ever present blue visor, and the princess will be able to save herself. _

_ To all those who wonder if their relationship is true, the answer is yes. To all those who claim that theirs is a marriage made for the press, I challenge you to spend a day in their home. There is nothing made up about the love they feel for one another. There is nothing fake about the way they look at each other when they think the other isn't looking. _

_ To the Vakarian's, who so graciously allowed me into their home, I say "Thank you."_

~End~


	10. Chapter 10

"I don't understand this shirt," Jane growled, her arms were behind her back, holding the front of her top closed. "Why would I possibly want to draw attention to my stomach?"

Jane stood in the center of her living room, facing the couch where Liara, Kasumi, and Samara currently lounged. She could hear James and Zaeed in the basement. They were in the middle of a heated debate regarding weaponry for the days 'mission.' Mostly, James was trying to explain why Zaeed couldn't take Jessie along.

Zaeed had arrived on Saturday while Jane and Garrus were napping. Liara had contacted him, along with most of the previous _Normandy_ crew after the attack on their home and over the past few days guests had been slowly trickling in.

Kasumi and Samara had been the next to arrive, Kasumi's arms laden with 'gifts' for Jane. Cortez, who was currently out running errands with Jack, had shown up hours after Kasumi and Jack the following morning. Their home was quickly becoming over crowded. To accommodate everyone, Garrus, Zaeed, and James had brought in bunks and turned most of the basement—the portion not used as an armory—into barracks.

"Because pregnancy is beautiful and pregnant women are gorgeous, and this time in your life needs to be celebrated," Kasumi explained, bringing Jane back to the conversation between the women, as she hopped off the couch and came up to Jane. "Now turn around and I'll fix your shirt."

"I don't feel beautiful," Jane grumbled as she turned around and let Kasumi take over the ties. "I feel fat, and puffy, and tired. I'm not growing a baby; I'm growing an energy vampire."

"From what I understand of human pregnancy, which is not so dissimilar from Asari pregnancy," Samara spoke up in her usually calm tone. "This is the time when you will feel the most exhausted. Do not worry, this is completely normal. And while you may not feel it, you are indeed beautiful, Jane."

"All done," Kasumi chirped as she finished tying the strips of fabric in a bow.

"Where's Garrus?" James asked as he walked into the living room. He was wearing his usual Alliance gear, combat pants and a white t-shirt with the Alliance logo across the front, but had added shoulder holsters for his pistols which he was trying to cover with the leather jacket he was pulling on.

"Yo, Scars," He called, still not looking at Jane standing in the center of the room as he fiddled with the holsters. Liara came up to him, batting his hands away and taking over tightening the straps. "Get your ass in gear! We gotta get this show on the road."

"I'm coming," Garrus called back, exiting their bedroom as he clipped his omni-tool to his wrist. "I couldn't find my…Woah!"

Garrus' mandibles fell open, his jaw going slack as he took Jane in. He stopped short in the doorway, staring at her as though he'd never seen her before.

"Kasumi brought some maternity clothes," Jane explained sheepishly. "I thought I should actually wear them since we're going out."

"You look stunning," Garrus said as he finally moved from his spot in the door way, coming towards her.

"Really?" Jane asked, holding her arms out to the side. She turned toward the decorative mirror hanging on the wall and took herself in. "You think so?"

The shirt was cobalt blue, almost the same color as Garrus' face paint, and it made her red hair and pale complexion stand out even more than usual. It was a tank top configuration with a deep V cut neck line. The fabric over her chest gathered and looked like it twisted in the center of her breasts and the excess was gathered at her back, which had been tied by Kasumi. It was form fitted across her breasts but gave way to more flowing fabric over her stomach. The shirt was long, hitting her at mid thigh, even with having to cover her stomach. Kasumi had paired it with chocolate colored leggings and finally a pair of simple ballet flats.

"I think I need to go find a big stick," Garrus said as he came up behind Jane. She turned her head, looking up at his reflection in the mirror, his head above hers.

"What?"

"To beat everyone off of you with," He explained.

"That's what we're here for," James reminded him. "You two just go about your business, let Zaeed and me deal with the paparazzi and adoring fans."

"And me," Kasumi spoke up. "I'll be there too, but you won't see me."

"This is a lot of freaking fanfare for a damn check up," Jane grumbled.

"But necessary," Liara reminded them. "You were attacked, in your own home, remember?"

"I know, Liara," Jane sighed. "I was there."

"Moving on," James cut in, bringing everyone back to the present. "Liara and Samara will stay here to supervise the crew setting up the perimeter security. You two," James pointed at Garrus and Jane. "Have the check up at ten-hundred then a meeting at twelve hundred thirty at Alliance head quarters."

"It's only been six months," Garrus reminded James. "Don't talk to us like we don't know the routine."

"Sorry, just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page."

"You're just enjoying being in charge for once," Jane corrected. "Don't get too used to it, while we're at Alliance HQ I am going to talk to Admiral Hackett. Operation Keep-The-Pregnant-Woman-Safe will be headed by me."

"Yeeeah, no it won't," James shook his head. "Sorry, Lola, you're going to have to accept a backseat role here. Officially, I'm leading this."

"Officially," She repeated as she turned from the mirror and headed for the front door. "Remember that."

"Why do I feel like I didn't win that round?" James asked the room.

"Because you didn't," Liara answered, giving his chest a pat as she finished tightening the last strap. She stood on tip toes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek but James caught her around the waist, pulling her back to press his lips to hers for a real kiss. Pulling away she tapped a finger against his chest, right above his heart. "Be safe out there, today."

"Goddamn teenagers," Zaeed grumbled as he followed Jane and Garrus out of the room. "C'mon lover boy, we've got a job to do."

Garrus and Jane were already outside as James and Zaeed stepped out the front door. As they were approaching the car, Jane broke away from Garrus, hurrying back toward the house.

"Sorry, sorry," She muttered as she half waddled half ran up the front walk. "I'll be back in just a minute."

"What the…?" Zaeed asked, gesturing toward Jane.

"I have to pee," Jane hollered over her shoulder as she rushed back into the house.

Garrus was doubled over, one hand on the car to hold himself up as he watched Zaeed and James stare after Jane.

"This is why we're never on time for anything," He chuckled, straightening up and walking over to the men standing slack jawed on his front porch. You'd swear they'd never seen a pregnant woman run.

"You would think she'd be more responsible," James grumbled. "She should've done this before we went to leave."

"The baby shifted and kicked her bladder," Garrus explained. "Just be glad we're past the losing her lunch in the bushes phase."

"Bet it didn't take as long," Zaeed grumbled as he leaned against the railing.

"No, it didn't, but she didn't always make it out of the car before it hit," Garrus countered, chuckling softly.

"She better not puke in my car," James warned.

"Upholstery is washable," Garrus reminded James.

"My seats are leather," James shot back.

"Also launder able," Zaeed chuckled.

"Are you enjoying making fun of me?" Jane spoke up from behind the men as she and Kasumi walked out of the house. She had her commander voice on and all three males shot up from their slouched positions, guilt, fear, and embarrassment at being caught evident on Garrus and James' faces but Zaeed just laughed.

"Of course," Zaeed answered. "Someone has to tease the great Commander Shepard."

"That someone is not you, Massani," Jane said, her commander voice still in place, her face completely closed off and void of emotion—something Garrus hadn't seen since she'd woken up after killing the Reapers.

She stepped past the men and walked toward the car. "Are we leaving or are you guys going to keep standing there staring at my fat ass?"

"You all are such pigs," Kasumi hissed as she passed them, glaring specifically at Garrus.

"What?" James protested but shut up when Garrus cuffed him lightly on the back of the skull.

"Just move," Garrus ordered before taking off after his wife.

"I never meant for them to tease you," Garrus tried to explain as he caught up to Jane. "They just sort of ran with something I said."

Jane looked up at him, her eyes brimmed with tears and Garrus would've kicked his own ass if his knees bent in a way that would allow it.

"Oh, Jane," He wrapped his arms around her stiff body. "I'm so sorry. Please don't cry."

"I'm sorry," Jane sniffled before burying her face against Garrus' chest. "I don't know why I'm so emotional. I know you guys meant no harm."

"The books say crying is completely normal." Garrus pulled Jane closer and stroked his hands down her back.

"It still sucks," Her voice was small and muffled against his light armor. "And I'm tired of it."

"You're almost done," Garrus would've said 'we' but figured this was not the time to include himself in her suffering. She might decide to make him suffer more to make up for his lack of being pregnant. Jane had become irrational and irritable the closer to the baby's due date they got.

"I know," She huffed. "We're almost there. I've been horrid these past few days. I wish I could say I'll get better, but I really don't think I will. You're a saint for not running away from me when I'm like this."

"You'd shoot me if I tried," Garrus said with a chuckle. He was only partially joking.

"Only because I can't use my biotics," Jane agreed, giggling with him.

She sobered up, pulling away from his chest to look up at his face. "I love you, even when I'm acting like a witch. I'd be worse if you weren't here."

"I know," Garrus agreed, his mandibles flaring into a smile. "I love you too, Jane. And you're not as bad as you think. Just remember, I fought a war with you, I knew what I was in for when I married you." He pulled her in tight for a final hug before stepping back and turning them toward the vehicle. "Now, let's get going before we're late for the appointment with Chakwas."

* * *

The drive to the clinic in London was quiet. James and Zaeed were in the front seat while Jane sat in the back sandwiched between Garrus on her left and Kasumi on her right. Garrus kept his arm around her shoulders, holding her close to his side, as they circled the clinic looking for any press that may be waiting to ambush them.

Sure enough, the sidewalk and grassy area outside of the clinic was covered with reporters. They were milling about like geese, talking to each other, shouting over one another, and all of them were watching for the car Jane and Garrus were in.

"So," James spoke up from the driver's seat. "How do you want to play this?"

"I thought you were in charge," Jane teased from the back seat.

"You're the one who'll have to deal with them," James reminded her. "We can try to sneak in the back way..." James started to say as they finished the circle around the block and came up on the back door to the clinic. There were just as many reporters waiting there as there were at the front door. "Or not."

"Front or back door doesn't matter, those reporters are going to stampede the moment these two set foot out of the goddamn car," Zaeed spoke up, jerking his thumb toward the back seat.

"How did they know we would be here today," Garrus asked the one question that had been on everyone's mind. They'd gone to great lengths to keep the appointment time a secret. Jane had made the appointment under her mother's maiden name, a name that should not have been easily connected to her, and even then she'd made the appointment specifically with Chakwas who assured her she would enter it into the system personally. Who'd leaked the information?

"No one was supposed to know."

"But they do," Kasumi spoke up for the first time since leaving the house. "We can't get rid of them, at least not easily, so we have to find a way to make this work."

"I hate reporters," Jane grumbled before taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Okay, Vega, just park in that parking lot. We're going to do this as though those reporters aren't there. Kasumi, I want you to cloak before you get out of the car, sneak into the crowd and do what you do best."

"Got it," Kasumi said. She pulled up her omni-tool, readying it to cloak before she departed. "I'll keep my ear to the ground and let you guys know if I see anything suspicious."

"Thanks, this is just the place for another attack. There'd be so much confusion if someone fired a shot in that crowd that we'd never find the shooter." Jane was holding Garrus' hand, squeezing tightly for strength. She was really tired of playing Commander Shepard. Her plan when she'd retired was to find a quiet space to raise their kids away from all the spot light. It would seem that the universe didn't want that for her, though.

"James and Zaeed, keep those vultures back," Garrus spoke up, stroking the back of Jane's hand with his thumb. "I'll get Jane into the clinic. I am sick of this. Every time we leave our property someone is there trying to snap our picture or get an interview."

"The price of fame," Jane muttered as James found a parking spot and set the car down.

Just as the doors opened Kasumi cloaked. Once Zaeed had exited, the thief hopped out of the car, making her way quietly across the parking lot and into the mass of reporters standing on the grass around the clinic.

"Shall we?" Garrus asked.

"Once more into the bowels of hell," She chuckled as she gestured for the door. Garrus stepped out first, reaching his hand into the car to help Jane out.

"Commander Shepard!" Jane heard a voice from her past barking as she stepped from the car. Garrus automatically wrapped his arms around her, keeping his body between her's and the many reporters rushing toward them.

"Commander Shepard!" The voice rang out again. Jane peeked around Garrus' body and saw Kalisah Bint Sinan Al Julani rushing toward them. James stepped into the reporter's path, his arms stretched out in an attempt to hold the reporter back.

"Step back!" He barked. "Give them some room."

"Excuse me," Al Julani snarled as she attempted to shove James aside. "Commander Shepard! The people want to know…"

"Bitch," Jane hissed under her breath. She stepped back from Garrus but kept his hand in hers as she faced the crowd.

"It's okay, James," Jane said as she stepped up behind the younger man.

"What, pray tell, do the people want to know, Ms. Al Julani?" Jane asked her voice laced with sarcasm.

"Commander Shepard," Al Julani started but Jane held her hand up, stopping the woman.

"Try "Mrs. Vakarian," Jane corrected as she felt Garrus' arm wrap around her waist. "I have been married for over a year now."

Jane watched as Al Julani gritted her teeth, obviously hating being corrected. Her jaw ticked and her lip turned up slightly in a sneer before she tried again.

"Mrs. Vakarian, then," Al Julani spat out. "Is it true that you've been on bed rest for the last six days?"

"Yes." Jane vowed to keep her answers short, not willing to give the woman anything she could use to smear them.

"And you were placed under such restrictions because of injuries sustained during a fight with a _Turian_," The reporter sneered the last word, her camera zooming in toward Garrus as she said it.

"What are you implying, Ms. Al Julani?" Jane kept her voice calm even though she wanted to punch the woman for implying that Garrus had hurt her. She felt him stiffen next to her, the arm around her waist going hard as steel while he held himself upright.

"I am not implying anything, Commander," Al Julani answered sweetly, sneaking Jane's previous title in again. "The people would like to know the whole story. We're worried about you."

"The whole story?" Jane asked before speaking up, her voice rising in volume so that everyone in the crowd could hear her. "Will the whole story be what the people see when you're done with your hack job or will they only see what you want them to see?"

"I am here to report the truth," Al Julani bristled. "I am offended that you would accuse me of anything less."

"You weren't reporting the truth on Friday," A voice in the back of the crowd shouted. It sounded so familiar. Damn baby-brain, where had Jane heard that voice? She held her hand up when she saw Al Julani getting ready to defend herself, silencing the questionable reporter.

"Since everyone is here," Jane continued to speak loud enough to be heard. "I'll tell the story for everyone. I'm sure someone in this crowd will be willing to report the truth."

Jane scanned the crowd and couldn't help the smile that tugged on her lips when she saw Sara Laurens, the journalist who'd visited their home earlier that week. That was the voice she recognized. She nudged Garrus and nodded in Sara's direction with her head. She felt his arm relax slightly where it was pressed against her lower back. The low rumble of a chuckle that worked its way up his chest helped her to relax as well.

"Can everyone see and hear me?" Jane asked. "If not, move forward."

Reporters from the back of the crowd began to move forward, nudging their way through onlookers until they were all in a position to be able to hear Jane.

"Okay," Jane started once everyone was settled. "Ms. Al Julani's question was in regards to my current restrictions. It is true that I am on bed rest, that I am to keep my heart rate and blood pressure down so as not to agitate the baby—something infinitely more difficult to do when I am ambushed by reporters every time I step outside of my home," Jane glared at Al Julani as she said the last bit.

"It is also true that these restrictions were placed on me after I engaged in hand to hand combat with _a_ turian. I'd like to make it very clear, though, that the turian in question was not Garrus Vakarian." Jane stopped to take a breath, looking over the faces of those in the crowd. Her eyes met Sara's and the young reporter smiled, giving her a thumbs-up sign before pointing toward one of the camera drones that was focused on them. The drone had her broadcast company's logo on its side.

"On Friday evening, around eighteen hundred hours, that's six o'clock for those of you who don't understand a 24-hour clock, about half an hour after watching Ms. Al Julani's highly questionable report on my current marital situation, our home was attacked by about a dozen armed, unknown, turians. They had a sniper who attempted to shoot me while I was in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner," Jane knew she didn't have to add that they'd watched Al Julani's report, but couldn't stop herself from taking the jab at the woman.

"My husband, Lieutenant Commander Vega, and I," Jane gestured to James who was standing on her right. "Engaged the attackers in an attempt to defend ourselves. During this fight, I ran out of ammunition, and was forced to defend myself physically. The strain on my body from both the adrenaline and the exertion of defending myself caused my heart rate to sky rocket and put my unborn child in danger."

Jane cupped her hand over her stomach, rubbing against the taut skin as she felt the baby roll and kick.

"I experienced mild, pre-term labor that was able to be stopped and my doctor placed me on bed rest to ensure that I stayed calm and did not agitate our child further," Jane finished the story. She had stayed to simple details. She kept her sentences short and hoped that it would be too difficult to cut the story up and make it seem like this attack was caused by Garrus.

"Today's visit, which I am now," Jane stopped, looking down at her omni-tool for the time. "Fifteen minutes late for, is to assess the situation and monitor the baby. So, if you would excuse me, I have a doctor with ice cold ultrasound jelly waiting for me."

Her last comment was met with chuckles as James and Zaeed walked forward into the crowd, moving reporters and onlookers out of the way so she and Garrus had a clear path to the clinic's entrance.

* * *

"Not bad," Chakwas said. She met them at the entrance to the clinic and guided them back toward an examination room. "You handled that well, Jane."

"Thanks," Jane sighed as she followed the doctor. "I hope calling that woman out will mean she isn't able to twist this into somehow being Garrus' fault. I don't care if she goes after me, but I'm tired of her going after him."

"Don't worry about me, Jane," Garrus spoke up from her side, but she ignored him. She could take anything that bitch threw at her, but she refused to have him slandered. It wasn't an option.

"There were at least 20 cameras out there," James pointed out. "So even if she tries, someone else is going to air the real story. She won't be able to keep this up for long. We just have to railroad her every time she tries to corner you or Garrus."

"Easier said than done," Jane reminded James as they came to a stop in front of an exam room.

"This from the woman who ran a suicide mission into the center of the goddamn galaxy," Zaeed chuckled. "Didn't you punch that bitch once before?"

"Obviously not hard enough," Jane chuckled. "Are you two going to loiter?" She asked, changing the topic.

"We'll wait out here." James took a spot on one side of the doorway, leaning against the wall, and Zaeed chose the other side of the door.

"You know the routine," Chakwas said as they entered the room and she went over to a piece of equipment, pulling it closer to the bed.

Paper crinkled as Jane adjusted on the exam table. She pulled her shirt up and pushed the waistband of her pants low so her stomach was completely open for the doctor. Chakwas finished setting up the ultrasound machine and pulled out a bottle of blue gel and the ultrasound paddle.

"This is going to be cold. I did have it warmed up, but you were late," Chakwas said just before squirting the cool gel onto Jane's stomach. Jane jumped, a quiet squeak sneaking out as the gel hit her skin.

"Sure you did," She grumbled. "Feels more like you put it in the freezer."

The doctor chuckled but didn't say anything to Jane's protests, instead focusing on the screen of the machine as she moved the wand around, pressing against Jane's stomach as she searched for the baby.

"There's his heart," Chakwas said, tapping her finger against the screen where they could see the baby's heart fluttering. "Give me just a moment and you'll be able to hear him as well." The doctor pressed a few keys on the keyboard and the room was filled with the low, quick pulsing of their child's heart beat.

"Should it be beating that quickly?" Garrus asked. He was sitting next to Jane, holding her hand.

"Yes," Chakwas answered with a smile. "Everything is looking perfect."

"Best news we've gotten all week," Jane looked to Garrus as she said it. He was staring at the screen, his mandibles flared in a small smile as he took in their son. "Can we get a few pictures?"

"Sure, just give me a moment."

The doctor went to work, moving the ultrasound wand around until she had a good picture of their son's profile, he was sucking his thumb. She pressed a few keys on the keyboard, quickly, and then the image froze for a second. She moved the wand again, clicking away on the keys, and the screen zoomed out to a full body shot of their child. The final picture she caught was of his feet, and yet again, the moment the wand was over his feet, he kicked, giving them a perfect picture.

"I'll send these to both of your extra-net accounts," Chakwas said. She cleaned the wand off and put it back where it belonged before taking a wet towel and wiping Jane's stomach off.

While Jane rearranged her clothing, Chakwas sent the pictures off to their extranet accounts, and simultaneously both their omni-tools let out a light pinging noise. Jane tapped to accept the message and was staring at the pictures when Garrus' omni-tool notified him that he had an incoming call.

"I can't ignore this," Garrus grumbled. "Callus will have an aneurism if I put him off any longer."

"Go on, we can wait," Jane smiled, patting his arm. Garrus stood up and moved to a far corner of the room, refusing to leave the room while Jane was in with the doctor.

"Hello, Callus," Garrus greeted his assistant.

"Good morning, Primarch," Callus answered. "I was wondering if you'd spoken with Jane about the ceremony. Have the two of you decided when you will be able to come and accept your title officially?"

"We've talked about it," Garrus answered gruffly. Apparently, Callus wasn't in the mood for small talk. He'd cut straight to the point. "But I refuse to leave her before our child is born."

"That's a problem, Garrus," Callus used his name instead of title. "If you don't formally accept the title within three weeks the laws state that it will be forfeited and go on to the next family. You will shame your clan."

"I know that, Callus," Garrus snarled. "But I won't leave her side. Isn't there another option?"

"No," Callus said after a moment of deliberation. "None that I can think of."

"Think harder, then," Garrus growled. "I will not leave my mate when she is so close to giving birth."

"Garrus," Callus' subharmonics were tinged with frustration and a sound most often used on a petulant child. "These are your people. They're waiting for you to accept this title. You have to make a decision."

"I have, Callus," Garrus' own subharmonics rose in volume, rumbling with anger. "My top priority is and will always be my mate. Everything, and I do mean every-damn-thing in this galaxy, comes second. If our people can't understand that then maybe I don't want to be their Primarch."

"You would shame your clan for your mate?" Callus' subharmonics shifted quickly, disbelief quivering in them. "Then what would you have left to give her?"

"The only thing I've ever had to give her," Garrus answered honestly. "Me. My loyalty to our bond, my never ending love and support, and if my clan was to disown me for that choice, I would not miss them for a moment."

It wasn't exactly true. He would miss his father, he would miss Solana, but if they couldn't understand the difficult situation he was in then it would be better if they never again contacted him. As for the rest of his clan, cousins and uncles and aunts would be missed, but none would ever mean more to him than Jane.


	11. Chapter 11

Garrus was frustrated after the call with Callus. That blasted _turian_ just couldn't see reason. Garrus was more than willing to take on the role of Primarch, hell, to be honest a small part of him was giddy over the prospect, but he was not willing to travel at this point in Jane's pregnancy.

"I'm releasing you from strict bed rest, but that doesn't mean you're completely free to do as you please," Dr. Chakwas was explaining when Garrus tuned back into the conversation.

"But I can walk around my own home? Stay standing for longer than a minute or two?" Jane's tone was hopeful and Garrus had to stifle the chuckle growing in his chest.

She hated bed rest. Keeping her stationary had been a nightmare for the last week, but if being at her beck and call, constantly watching her and wracking his brain to entertain her was what he had to do to keep her and the baby healthy, he would do it for the next eight weeks without complaint.

"Yes, you can walk around. You can enjoy all your usual activities—all of them— as long as you're careful. If anything seems painful, uncomfortable, or for any reason doesn't feel right, stop," Chakwas warned. "And of course, if the discomfort continues or you're worried, give me a call and we'll either get you in here at the clinic or I'll come out to you to check on you and the baby."

"Thanks, Karin," Jane smiled from ear to ear as she hopped down from the table and hugged the doctor. "You have no idea how frustrating it was feeling completely healthy but being treated like an invalid."

"Not to mention how hard it is to keep you entertained," Garrus cut in. He wasn't going to let Jane sit there acting like she was the only one put out by her bed rest. "You're an absolutely horrible patient."

"You knew that before you married me," Jane shot back as she turned to face him, her smile still in place and good mood not faltering under his jibes.

"Yeah, it takes a special kind of thick headed to know you can't win and walk into the fight ring anyway," Garrus chuckled.

"One more thing," the doctor spoke up as she crossed the room and opened a small refrigerator that was tucked in the corner. She pulled out a large bottle of water and handed it to Jane. "You need to drink a lot more of this. You're dehydrated and that can cause pre-term labor. You want that little guy fully cooked don't you? Then you need to take care of yourself so your body doesn't try to boot him out early."

"Yes, ma'am," Jane accepted the bottle of water before giving the doctor a salute.

"I mean it, Jane." Chakwas said with the don't- mess-with-me look on her face that she'd used with everyone on the Normandy at one point or another when they were injured.

"I know you do," Jane said, becoming serious. "While I may not like it, even grumble about your orders and joke about breaking them, that's all it is—joking. I would never do anything to intentionally put the baby's health in jeopardy."

"That's good to hear," the doctor said with a sigh of relief before heading for the door. The doctor stepped out of the room and as they were packing up to leave she came back in.

"I almost forgot," Chakwas was clicking away on a datapad as she returned to the room. "Have you guys started Lamaze yet?"

"La-what?" Jane asked.

"Birthing classes," Garrus explained.

"How do you know that and I don't?"

"I read about it in one of the books you bought," he explained. "Apparently you skipped that chapter."

"Must have," Jane shrugged. "You didn't share your knowledge before now, though, why?"

"It was months ago, we had time. You were busy picking out paint colors for the baby's nursery and trying to decide between a bassinet and a co-sleeper for our room," he explained and Jane blushed because she knew exactly what he was talking about. He'd teased her mercilessly for that month that she'd agonized over where the baby would sleep once he got here.

"Well, you're running out of time," the doctor cut in as she pushed a data pad into Jane's hands.

"What's this?" Jane questioned as she put the data pad into her bag.

"Just some information for the two of you to look into," the doctor answered. "Information about breast feeding versus bottle feeding, daycare or in home nanny, private or public schooling; all the essential though rarely thought about debates that new parents don't think about until it's too late."

"Okay, so I guess we should take a look at this stuff soon," Jane shrugged.

"I want you back in two weeks. Bring any questions you have about any of that information," the doctor said as they all stepped from the room together.

They had an appointment with Hackett at Alliance HQ that none of them wanted to be late for, so after another hug Jane broke away from the doctor and headed toward the front desk to schedule their next appointment.

"How'd it go?" James asked, catching up with them as they walked toward the clinic's exit.

"I've been released from bed rest," Jane beamed.

"About bloody fucking time," Zaeed muttered, earning him a glare from Jane.

"Don't glare at me, Shepard," Zaeed growled in response to her withering stare. "You're a nasty bitch when you're bed ridden."

"It compliments your sunny disposition," Jane replied sarcastically then took off down the hall ignoring the grouchy mercenary behind her.

The reporters were still gathered around the clinic. James and Zaeed stepped in front of Jane and Garrus, cutting a path through the cameras and journalists all trying to get video of the couple leaving the clinic hand in hand.

* * *

They made it to Alliance HQ about five minutes before the meeting with Hackett.

"Honestly," Kasumi grumbled. "You couldn't find a closer parking spot?"

"Hey!" James spat back. "I wasn't the only one in the car. If you saw a closer parking spot why didn't you say something?"

"I'm just saying," Kasumi continued. "Jane's pregnant and just barely off bed rest. You don't want to be the reason she has to go back on bed rest."

"I'm fine," Jane spoke up. "The walking is good for me."

"Are you sure?" Garrus worried, hovering over her as she marched across the parking lot.

"Not you too," Jane huffed in frustration. This had to stop. She could not handle everyone hovering, worrying and fussing over her like this.

"Look, she's already out of breath," Zaeed pointed toward Jane who was actually breathing just fine; not panting or having any trouble. "She just huffed."

"Out of frustration," Jane tried to explain but her claims fell on deaf ears as they all began to argue, talking over each other and drowning Jane out all together.

"Why didn't you drop Jane off at the front of the building then park the car?" Kasumi continued to question James.

"That would've been a great idea," Garrus agreed.

"I'm fine," Jane countered, continuing to walk along with them.

"We're closer to the car than the building," Zaeed pointed out. "Why don't you three turn around, James can drop them off at the building then park the car and catch up to us."

_Oh for the love of Christ!_ Jane thought. _This has to stop._

With that thought firmly in her head, Jane stopped short in the parking lot, allowing everyone else to keep walking. They were so engrossed in their arguing that they didn't notice she wasn't with them. She stood there for a few more seconds as they continued to move away from her, waiting for them to notice they'd lost her. When they were two aisles of parked sky cars ahead of her, she gave up waiting and pulled out the pistol she'd strapped to her thigh; hidden under her shirt/dress. She aimed toward the clouds above her and shot off three rounds in quick succession.

Every person in the parking lot dropped to the ground. James and Garrus throwing themselves toward the empty space she would've been in their group to protect her. They cracked skulls before collapsing onto the pavement with a clattering scraping noise—Garrus' armor grinding against the concrete. She continued to stand there, her hands at her side; gun held firmly at her side as she waited for everyone to sort themselves out.

"What the hell, Lola!" James shouted, shoving himself off the ground first and running toward her.

Garrus was the second body up from the ground and he also came running toward her, his own pistol pulled from behind his back where he kept it hidden at all times. His eyes darted around the parking lot, looking for any possible threats. As they got closer, Jane raised her arm, pointing her pistol at the ground just in front of them and fired another shot, causing James to jump to the side while Garrus barely flinched. He continued toward her.

"That is close enough," Jane warned, her voice finally stopping Garrus.

"What's going on, love?" Garrus asked.

"Wait just a moment," Jane said, looking over his shoulder to Kasumi and Zaeed as they came up to the group. James had also joined them, everyone eyeing her wearily.

"Christ," Zaeed cursed as he came up next to Garrus. "Have you completely lost your mind, woman?"

"Maybe," Jane smirked, "or maybe I was just trying to get my point across."

"What point could that possibly be? That you have a gun?" James asked. "How do you have a gun? Where did you get it from?"

Jane pulled her dress up on the right side, showing the holster strapped to her thigh.

"Did you honestly think I would leave the house unarmed?"

"Well, yeah," James shrugged. "You had the four of us with you, why did you need a weapon?"

Raising an eyebrow, she just stared at the younger Marine.

"I was attacked in my own home," she finally reminded him when it became obvious that he wasn't going to connect the dots.

"But you have all of us with you," James repeated. "You don't need to be exerting yourself shooting a gun."

Jane gritted her teeth, clamping down on the anger that pulsed through her body that was starting to cause a dull ache behind her eyes. Did he honestly think firing her Phalanx was exertion? Did they truly see her as some fragile invalid? With every moment that went by, every question and doubt that moved through her mind Jane found her anger growing instead of receding as she had hoped. She couldn't stand to even look at the people in front of her. They were her friends, but they were treating her like she couldn't even care for herself.

Giving into the anger, she holstered her pistol and shoved past the group in front of her. She doubled her pace, storming toward the building that housed Hackett's office. She was going to get him to rescind the orders keeping James, and everyone else, at her house. She was getting every damn one of these nosey, busy bodies out of her life by the end of the day. She couldn't handle another moment of them hovering over her.

What was even worse was Garrus. He had joined right in with the worry warts. He was hovering, fussing, worrying about her as much as any of them. She could accept that he fussed over what she ate, how she slept, how much water she drank, but ever since James had moved in he'd been worse. He'd been fussing over her walking from their bedroom to the kitchen to get a damn glass of water. He had tried to carry her from their bed to the en suite bathroom one morning, afraid that she would over exert herself if she walked the mere ten feet on her own. No, she was done with this. She was done with all of it. She wanted her life back.

* * *

Jane burst through the door into Hackett's outer office, not even bothering to knock.

"Good afternoon," his receptionist chirped, "do you have an appointment with the Admiral?"

Jane didn't slow down for a second , instead pushing the younger woman out of her way and heading for the door that would open to Hackett's personal space within the larger office.

"Excuse me! You can't just barge in there!" the receptionist called from behind Jane as she pulled the office door closed behind her with a solid slam.

She'd made sure that she was the only one in the elevator, locking Garrus, Zaeed, James, and Kasumi out of the lift so that they wouldn't be with her when she got to Hackett's office. She was going to talk to him without them there to hover over her. They would probably try to brush her anger off as pregnancy hormones, belittling her feelings as unimportant because she obviously couldn't control them.

"Get them out of my house," she ground out when Admiral Hackett finally looked up from the data pad he was reading at his desk.

"Excuse me?" he asked, nonplussed by the angry, extremely deadly, pregnant woman in front of him.

"Rescind Vega's orders, remove the protection detail from my home or so help me, Steven, you will be missing a freshly trained N7 Marine," Jane gritted out through clenched teeth.

"Are you threatening violence?"

"Yes!" Jane shouted. "Violence. Murder. Mayhem. Whatever it takes to get you to pull him out of my house!"

"Jane," Admiral Hackett began as he pushed away from his desk and stood. He reached for the cane that was balancing on the desk next to him, leaning against it as he came around the piece of furniture.

"No!" she cut him off. "Don't Jane me. I am tired of being coddled. I am tired of being fussed over and worried about. I'm tired of being forced to stay put. I'm tired of other people arguing about what is right for me. I'm tired of not being heard!"

She paused momentarily, her chest heaving as she pressed a hand to her back, massaging her sore right hip. It had never completely healed properly from the damage done to it when the Crucible exploded, and now the weight of the baby along with the stress from having him moving around in there, caused the old injury to ache.

"Damn it, Admiral! I'm known as the Butcher of Torfan. I'm the first human Spectre. I took down Saren. I took a team through the Omega 4 Relay and brought them all back—an impossible mission—and while I was there I blew up the Collector base. If that doesn't prove that I'm able to care for myself and make the big decisions, I stopped the damn Reapers! I was willing to die to make sure those monsters never returned!" She was pacing the office now, tears of frustration streaming down her cheeks while she pounded her fist against her palm. "I deserve some damn respect. I'm tired of being treated like an invalid. _You_ ordered this. So it's up to you to rescind the orders."

Jane deflated as she turned back to the Admiral. Her body let her know just how much the week of bed rest was affecting her as her hands began to shake, her knees feeling weak from almost running across an Alliance base and storming into the office. She'd taken two flights of stairs by foot when she'd realized that the elevator was stopping on every level between the ground floor and the seventh floor where the Admiral's office was. For just a moment, she worried that she'd overdone it, again.

"Are you done?" Hackett asked his voice laced with steel.

"Yes, sir," Jane answered, her spine straightening automatically, shoulders snapping back.

"Sit." Hackett gestured toward the arm chair Jane had stopped in front of.

Jane perched on the edge of the chair stiffly.

"Relax," Hackett ordered. "As you like to remind me, you're retired."

"Sorry, sir" Jane apologized, relaxing back into the chair, resting her sore spine. "It's reflexive. You start barking and I automatically snap to attention."

"Water?" Hackett asked.

"Um," Jane rolled the empty bottle in her hands sheepishly, she'd chugged the water in the elevator on her way up. "Yes, please."

Jane watched the Admiral as he walked slowly across his office to the refrigerator mounted in the wall next to a small bar. He'd lost his right leg in the final battle in London which left him with a small limp and a lot of balance issues. He'd just never gotten back to normal—but that was the story for many soldiers, including Jane. She could've offered to help but she knew he would just tell her no. He had to do this himself. She'd had many of those days during her recovery. Garrus would rush up to help her when she was wobbly and she would shove him away. So she sat and watched as he gathered up the bottles of water; carrying one to her. He took the arm chair that faced hers, hooking the crook of his cane over the arm of the chair.

"Talk to me, Jane," he spoke quietly, watching her roll the fresh bottle of water between her hands.

"We're having quite the dry summer," Jane said, sarcastically.

"Jane," he warned.

"What do you want me to say? They're driving me insane," she sighed. "I haven't had a moment of peace since they started showing up. When it was just James it wasn't so bad, but then the attack happened and the rest of the old crew started showing up. Now things have gotten out of hand. They turned my basement into a barracks!"

"Attack?" he gasped, choking on the sip of water he was in the process of taking when she said the word.

"I assumed you knew. I thought James had reported in."

Admiral Hackett looked up at Jane from below bushy, grey eyebrows as he wiped the water off his dress coat.

"I guess you didn't know," she muttered sheepishly.

"No, I didn't know," he mocked .

"Well, it doesn't really matter," Jane waved her hand in the air, trying to brush her verbal stumble away. "What matters is that James and the rest of the crew are driving me crazy and I know you were behind them all showing up. I want them gone."

"Actually," he started, "I only sent Vega and T'Soni."

"What?" Jane gaped.

"T'Soni mentioned that Garrus had asked her to monitor the personal mail you and he received. When she started getting substantial death threats she called me, suggesting that someone should be placed in your home for security. She suggested Vega since he'd been on your team previously. I agreed. She also requested that she be allowed to accompany Vega so that she could more easily keep him in the loop regarding the threats," Hackett explained. "Now, what did you say about an attack?"

"Turian supremacy group," Jane waved it away again. "If you only sent Vega and Liara then why do I have a ton of Alliance personnel along with most of my previous crew mates from the last three major missions I ran, living in my home?"

"That is something you should speak to Vega about," Hackett advised.

"I've tried!" Jane threw her hands in the air, splashing water out of her bottle. "They all refuse to talk to me. They don't want to worry me. 'Stress is bad for the baby, Jane. Why don't you just have a cup of tea and relax,'" she mocked.

A disturbance outside the door drew their attention, interrupting their conversation, just as Garrus slammed the door open, storming into the room. James, Zaeed, and Kasumi following close behind him and Hackett's receptionist pulled up the rear; stopping just inside the door way.

"I'm sorry, sir," the receptionist apologized. "I tried to stop them."

"It's fine, Tiffany," Hackett smiled. "I was expecting them."

"What the hell were you thinking, Jane?!" Garrus demanded as the receptionist left, pulling the door closed behind her with a quiet snick. "Chakwas released you from bed rest barely an hour ago and already you're putting our son in danger—running across the parking lot. Were you even thinking?"

Jane raised an eyebrow, glaring at her husband and refusing to answer him. Chakwas' orders said that she could return to normal activity as long as there was no discomfort. She was not running. Walking fast was not unacceptable. She was not out of breath when she reached Hackett's office, yes her hands had been shaking but she had felt no discomfort. The shaking was caused by her anger. The baby was moving around normally, he was showing no outward signs of discomfort. Who the hell was Garrus to question her? She was the one in her body, not him. She knew her limits and she was tired of him second guessing everything she did under the guise of worrying about the baby. After staring him down for a moment, she turned back to the Admiral, deciding to ignore the interruption completely.

"I believe you were saying something, Admiral," Jane spoke to Hackett, her tone cool and collected, all of the emotion she was feeling and showing only moments before was now tightly locked down. She refused to show any emotion because she knew Garrus, James, and the rest would blame whatever she was feeling on the pregnancy and ignore it under the pretense that it wasn't real.

"Yes," Hackett chuckled, "I believe I was telling you that you needed to speak to Vega and T'Soni about your extra house guests. I was also saying that I would not be rescinding my original orders. It is obvious that you need a security detail if you're being attacked in your own home. Honestly, I'm thinking we should move you to a safe house until we can figure out who was attacking you and why."

"We don't even know if they were after me," she protested. "They could've been after Garrus. He is the new Primarch."

"He is?" Hackett turned to look at the turian who was currently pacing on the other side of the office from where they sat.

"Yes," Jane beamed. "As much as he's been irritating the hell out of me, I'm excited for him. If he fusses about matters of state the way he fusses about what I'm eating and drinking, he'll be an awesome leader for his people."

"I do not 'fuss' about what you're eating. I do not 'fuss' at you," Garrus protested still pacing.

"Yes, you do," Jane countered. "You fuss about what I eat and drink, you worry about how long I spend sitting up during the day. You coddle me. Hell, the only reason you let me walk to the bathroom on my own is because I threatened to break your leg spurs if you didn't stop trying to carry me everywhere."

"Why would any turian want to attack their own Primarch?" Hackett asked, ignoring Garrus' outburst and Jane's rebuttal.

"Why did American citizens in Texas assassinate John F. Kennedy? They don't agree with something Garrus has done or they think he will do. They don't agree that he married a human."

"I don't care if they agree with me or not," Garrus spat, cutting in again, still pacing. He was beginning to remind her of a caged animal.

"I know you don't care but that doesn't change the facts that _they _don't agree with you. They're probably upset that you're living on Earth. And by now I bet they've heard that you don't plan to return to Palaven for your swearing in ceremony. You've racked up quite a few points against you with any turians who might still hold animosity toward humans," Jane pointed out without turning toward her husband.

"Well if they wanted a Primarch who lived on the home world then they shouldn't have given the position to me," Garrus stated.

"Laws state that they must offer it to the next family in line, no matter where that family may be, you have the right to decline the position," Kasumi spoke up.

"He can't do that," Jane explained. "It would shame his clan."

"What?" Kasumi cocked her head, confused. "No it wouldn't. There's no shame in a turian getting comfortable in his current position. They always have the ability to decline a promotion."

"That's not what Garrus told me," Jane spoke slowly, her mind turning over that first conversation she'd had with Garrus after Callus had told him about the promotion.

"Jane," Garrus stopped pacing. He was holding his hands behind his back, something he only did when he was nervous.

"You said that you would shame your clan if you declined. You said you didn't have a child to pass the position to so if you declined it would go on to the next clan and shame your clan," Jane cut him off, pulling herself up from the chair she was sitting in so she could walk over to him.

"Yes," Garrus looked down, sighing. "That's what I said. But that's not exactly what I meant. Can we talk about this later? We're here to meet with the Admiral and brief him on your current security situation."

Jane glared at Garrus, furious that he'd lied to her. But he had a point. They weren't there to fight in the Admiral's office over Garrus lying through his teeth and thinking she wouldn't find out.

"Fine," she huffed. "I'll be waiting in the car. You 'brief' the admiral."

* * *

"How dare you!" Jane hissed at Garrus as James, Zaeed and Kasumi bolted from the car the moment it touched down at their home. "What were you thinking? You yelled at me like I was an insolent child, like I was a disobedient underling, and in front of the Admiral. What is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with me?" Garrus shot back, shoving the driver's seat forward so he could get out of the car. "I had just watched my extremely pregnant wife practically run across a parking lot and to make matters worse, you were running from me!"

"Of course I was," Jane threw her hands up, knocking her knuckles against the ceiling of the sky car. "You were treating me like a fragile piece of china. You were coddling me! I expected this behavior from the others, but _not_ from you! I trusted that you would continue to treat me with respect, and you haven't."

"What do you mean? How is worrying about you, about our son, wrong?" Garrus pulled himself out of the car, leaning back in to offer her a hand out but she moved away to the other side of the car and pushed the front passenger seat forward so she could get out the opposite side.

"I trusted you…" Jane started again but her voice broke with tears that were trying to spill. Tears of anger or pain, she wasn't sure. "I trusted you," she whispered, leaving it at that.

"Trusted?" Garrus caught on to the past tense. "Trusted—as in you don't trust me any longer?"

Jane shook her head, reaching out to grasp the roof of the car and pull herself out.

"Why not?"

"You _lied _to me!" Jane snarled, moments away from screaming in frustration, as she got out of the car.

"Jane," Garrus spoke slowly, as though he was trying to tame a wild animal. "Calm down, please. Think about our baby."

"Don't you dare bring him into this, Garrus," Jane growled. "I'm tired of everyone using this pregnancy as an excuse to leave me out of things, make decisions for me, omit important information and _lie to me_," the last words warped by an escaping sob. She had been trying so hard to hold the tears in, so hard to not let him see just how upset she was, "and don't tell me to think about the baby. I think about him. Every time he moves, every time he hiccups, every time I can't get up from the couch because of the weight I've gained; I think about him. I replay that attack in my mind every night when I close my eyes, I try to think of another way I could've defended myself. There was no other way. If I hadn't fought, we would both be dead. You would've found us bleeding out…. " she gasped again, attempting to hide another sob; unable to finish the thought.

"I didn't lie," Garrus shouted, finally losing his temper. "I just didn't tell you the whole truth."

"That's the definition of a lie, Garrus!" Jane shouted right back. "If you aren't telling the truth you're _lying_!"

"Fine!" Garrus shouted back. "I lied, but I had a good reason!"

"Oh?" Jane didn't believe him. "Please, do tell. I'd _love_ to hear your reason."

"You won't understand. You wouldn't have then, that's why I didn't tell you," Garrus sneered.

They were standing on opposite sides of the hood of the car. Jane planted her hands on the hood, leaning forward so she was closer to Garrus when she spoke.

"Try me," she hissed.

"It's my father, okay?" Garrus shoved way from the car, pressing the heel of his hand against his forehead. "What Kasumi said is true. If I declined I wouldn't technically be shamed. But would you want to be the one who declined the position of Primarch? Would you want to face your people knowing you'd chosen _not_ to lead them? My father would've been ashamed. I just barely got my relationship with him ironed out as it is, I don't want to lose him again."

"I don't buy it, Garrus," Jane shot back. "It's completely acceptable for you to decline a promotion and you're telling me that your father would've shamed you? He's too much of a rule follower for that."

"I knew you wouldn't understand!" Garrus exploded.

"Then explain it, Garrus!" Jane shouted right back. "You're giving me excuses, you're not explaining it. Why would this be the thing your father shamed you for? Why would you lie to me?"

Jane stood there rubbing a hand over her stomach; trying to calm the baby who was suddenly rolling around and kicking furiously, as she stared at her husband waiting for an answer. She could forgive his lying if he would just explain it. There was more going on here than he was telling her, which meant he could've been lying to her for a while. _No!_ She refused to believe that he'd been lying to her before now. There had to be an explanation. Didn't he trust her? After a few minutes, Garrus finally met her gaze and as she looked in his eyes; her heart broke. He wasn't going to tell her. Anything that came out of his mouth was going to be a lie. She knew it. He'd shut down.

"Damn it, Garrus," she cursed quietly. "I thought you trusted me."

She turned away from him, walking toward the house. She bit her cheek to keep the tears at bay—damn hormones.

"I do trust you, Jane," he pled as he followed her.

"No, you don't," she told him. "If you did, we wouldn't be talking about this at all. If you did, you would talk to me."

"Would you stop…..please?" he asked, grabbing her upper arm and stopping her before she stepped up onto the front patio. "I don't want to upset you. I know you think you're fine, but I don't want to stress you out. I don't want to harm the baby. If you'd just calm down I would talk to you."

"That's all it ever is. _'Calm down, Jane.' 'Relax, Jane.'_ Why won't you talk to me? Why do you think hiding things from me will stop the stress? I am more stressed now because I know you're hiding things from me. Everyone thinks that keeping me in the dark is going to help me or the baby, but it's not. It's doing more harm than good, Garrus. You're hurting us." Jane looked past his left shoulder, not able to meet his eyes. She didn't want to see the truth there again. She was afraid that she'd see something worse than the fact that he didn't trust her. She didn't even know what could be worse.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Sorry for what?"

"I upset you. I didn't mean to. You have to believe that I never meant to hurt you. I never meant for you to find out about this from someone else. I planned to explain it to you."

"Did you? Really?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Yes!"

"When?" she finally met his eyes, "When did you plan to tell me you lied to me and took a position to lead your people that you didn't really want?"

Again, Garrus looked away, breaking their eye contact.

"That's what I thought," she said quietly, feeling defeated as she pulled her arm out of his grasp and wrapped it around her stomach to cradle the child within.

She could feel her heart breaking as she turned away from him. She shoved all the grief that was welling up inside her to the back of her mind and allowed the anger to carry her into the house as she heard his heavy steps behind her. He'd lied to her. Not once, not twice, but three times and two of those lies had happened in the last five minutes.

* * *

The slam of the front door startled Liara where she was sitting at the kitchen island reading over the reports the security team had left behind.

"Jane!"

She heard Garrus call a moment later as he entered the house. Jane must've come in first. There was a hissed conversation in the front foyer that Liara couldn't quite hear and then Jane went stomping past the kitchen toward the back of the house. A moment later Garrus stormed past, his steps eating up the lead Jane had. Liara flinched reflexively when Garrus wrapped his hand around Jane's upper arm, jerking her to a stop. Grabbing Jane when she was in a mood was a bad idea; something Garrus should've known by now.

* * *

"You have two choices," Jane hissed at him. "You can remove your hand voluntarily or I can remove it painfully."

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Garrus snarled right back, too angry at her to realize the danger he'd put himself in.

A moment later he regretted that mistake. With a move too quick for even his predatory reflexes to follow, Jane reached out, grabbing his arm at the wrist. She squeezed her small fingers between the thinner plates there, digging into a pressure point and causing his grip on her arm to go slack against his will. In the next moment he was on his knees, his arm bent behind his back; fingers touching his wrist at an unnatural angle. He snarled instinctively, fighting against the hold she had on him.

_Why was she doing this? Didn't she know that physical exertion like this could cause the baby more harm. What was she thinking? Why couldn't she see that he was just trying to protect his child and his mate? Where had all this anger come from? Why wasn't she being rational? _

Questions raced through his mind as he became angrier with Jane; clouding his mind as he snarled louder. He bucked against her hold even as the rational part of him told him to stop fighting, there was a chance he could harm their child, but that rational part was being overpowered by instinct. He was hard wired to fight, to not allow himself to be dominated, and here she was shoving him to his knees, forcing him to submit.

Jane dragged her hand up the back of his neck letting her fingers slide between the spines of his fringe before she squeezed, her nails digging in slightly. She pulled his head backward, leaning down so her check brushed against his temple as her lips came close to his ear.

"Look where you are, Garrus," she whispered, her breath heating the flesh between his plates and dancing across his face. "I put you here without breaking a sweat. I'm not out of breath. I. Put. You. Here," she enunciated each word slowly. "And I didn't harm the baby at all. Does that prove to you that I can care for our child? Is this what it takes to show you that I'm not fragile? That I _am_ strong enough to be your mate? Will you trust me now? Respect me now?"

She paused and he felt wetness slip between his plates, sliding down his face and he knew it wasn't sweat from her brow. The rational part of his brain made a bid for control, screaming that she was hurting and he was to blame, but his instincts overpowered him again. The growl in his chest rose in volume as he shifted. In this state, he didn't see her as his pregnant mate; he saw her as an adversary. He needed to put her off balance.

"You seem to forget who you married, Vakarian," she whispered menacingly.

He struggled against the hold she had on his wrist, forcing her to crowd his back to keep him subdued. It was the bump of her stomach against the back of his cowl that finally kick started his higher thought processes; allowing the rational part to finally take control. He stopped his struggling, but couldn't quiet the growl rumbling in his chest. He was turian, after all.

_Oh, Spirits, what was he doing?_ He needed to stop this before she hurt herself or the child. As much as it pained him, he forced his muscles to relax and his body to submit so she would let him go. He fought against his instincts; focusing on the part of his brain that knew who was behind him, that knew she was hurting and lashing out at him because he'd caused that pain.

She held him there, his arm pinned between them and his head pulled back just far enough to be painful without causing actual harm for long moments. He could feel the muscle in her jaw tick as she gritted her teeth; trying to regain control of her emotions. Her breath hissed through her nose as she breathed hard. Finally, she released him and stepped back so he could get back to his feet. He was rubbing his sore wrist as he watched her.

"Jane…" he began as she turned to walk out of the room, reaching for her again but not making contact. Whatever he was going to say died on his tongue as his eyes met hers. They were filled with tears; her cheeks wet as they spilled over, trailing down to gather on her jaw. She stood tall, her shoulders back; chin up, even though he was sure she was falling apart inside.

"No, Garrus," Jane gave a firm shake of her head, pulling away from his outstretched hand. "You need to leave. Now."

"What?" he gasped. He needed to stay, not leave. He needed to make this better. He needed to see her smile, to wipe away her tears. He needed to fix this.

"You need to go. I don't care where, but you need to not be here. I can't have you near me right now," her voice broke as her eyes welled with more tears. "I can't look at you knowing you don't respect me enough to tell me the truth. I can't handle knowing you don't trust me. I…" she stopped, closing her eyes and tipping her head back for a second as she gathered her strength before facing him again. "I need to be alone. I want you to leave."

She turned on her heel then, continuing her path through the house. He watched her go, one hand on her lower back, nursing the ever persistent pain there. She hesitated for a moment at the mouth of the hallway. He thought she'd turn around, maybe tell him she changed her mind, but she didn't. Seconds ticked by and then he heard the nursery door close.


	12. Chapter 12

Well, here it is! The long awaited next chapter in this story.

To everyone who's reviewed Interspecies Awkwardness, I would like to say: THANK YOU! Honestly, there are not words to explain how those reviews make me feel.

To a specific reviewer who is known as V: Your review was extremely helpful for me. I was lost and couldn't see the forest for the trees in front of me. I can't pin point exactly what it was in your review that shoved me over that hump, but it did.

I have taken every review I've received to heart! Thank you, again, for reading this!

* * *

_Ping!_

Garrus groaned and rolled on to his side, swatting his hand out toward the bedside table where his omni-tool normally rested while he slept. His hand met air and he grumbled. Leaning further over the edge of the bed, he stretched; trying to reach the table, which had obviously been moved, though he couldn't fathom why. He batted his hand, putting more force behind the move in hopes of catching the edge of the table.

_Thwump!_

"Son of a bitch!" Garrus snarled into the cement below his face as he remembered where he was. He couldn't reach the bedside table because he wasn't sleeping in his bed. Three days earlier, Jane had locked him out of their room and refused to allow him entry leaving him no choice but to sleep on the cot in his basement workroom.

_Ping! Ping!_ His omni-tool chirped again, reminding him that he had an incoming call still waiting to be answered. He rolled until he was sitting up, his back against the side of the cot, retrieved his omni-tool from the floor next to the head of his cot, and accepted the call.

* * *

"Good morning," Alitus Vakarian chirped cheerfully as his son's face hovered over his wrist.

"'Mornin'," Garrus muttered, rubbing his face with his other hand.

"You look exhausted," Alitus observed as Garrus yawned, his mandibles flaring wide and his jaw popping as he stretched the muscles.

"I am exhausted," Garrus answered.

"Is Jane not letting you sleep?" Alitus asked. His subharmonics rang with humor as he took in his son's disheveled appearance. "Your mother was insatiable when she was carrying you and your sister."

"Dad!" Garrus snapped, suddenly wide awake. "I did not need to know that!"

"What?" Alitus asked innocently, though his subharmonics said otherwise. "I'm not asking for details, nor am I giving any. I'm just sympathizing with your plight, if it could be called that. Some would say it can't, though the guys in C-sec claim I was walking with a limp a week before you arrived."

"Please," Garrus groaned, covering his face again. "Stop talking now or I'm going to disconnect this call."

Alitus chuckled, his head tossed back slightly as he enjoyed his son's embarrassment. Ever since they'd reunited and accepted their differences, their relationship had shown improvement. He enjoyed teasing Garrus, knowing now that he could get away with it without his son cutting ties with their family. He also enjoyed being able to be there for Garrus when he needed someone to talk to. From what he'd heard through the grape vine, that was exactly what Garrus needed.

"Okay, okay," Alitus chuckled one last time before calming down. "Don't hang up. I'll behave."

"I don't buy that for a second," Garrus rumbled.

"How are you?" Alitus continued as though his son hadn't spoken. "How's Jane? How's my grandson?"

"Fine," Garrus answered. "We're all fine."

Alitus stared at his son through the vid-call. He wasn't sure about Jane or the baby, but he knew for a fact that Garrus was not fine. Garrus' subharmonics were too quiet. It wasn't uncommon for them to be quiet if nothing was happening, but there is a difference between the volume being turned down and them being completely muted. There wasn't anything for Alitus to hear.

"Is that so?" Alitus asked, skeptical. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," Garrus answered quickly, almost too quickly. "We're fine."

Alitus continued to stare at his son, barely blinking. He'd been a fine interrogator in his time with C-sec because of his patience. He was willing to wait a suspect out, to give them time to get lost in their brain while they tried to figure out what he was thinking. Eventually, they'd tell him everything he wanted to know. The only hiccup in this plan was that his 'suspect', as it were, was his son. Garrus had his mother's stubborn streak and Alitus' patience—it's why he was a renowned sniper. Just as Alitus was beginning to think that Garrus wouldn't be swayed into talking, Garrus spoke up.

"We saw the doctor Friday," He began. "She said the baby is doing fine and released Jane from bed rest."

"That's wonderful," Alitus smiled. "I bet Jane was excited."

"Extremely," Garrus nodded. "We had another ultrasound done. I have some pictures I can send to you if you'd like to see them."

"Of course I'd like to see them," Alitus scoffed. "They're of my grandson. I'll take anything you're willing to share."

Garrus pressed a few keys on his omni-tool and a few seconds later Alitus' own device pinged to announce the arrival of a message. He opened the message to find five photos attached.

"The first is of his…" Garrus began but Alitus finished the sentence for him.

"…his feet," Alitus said over Garrus. "I've seen my share of human ultrasounds. We didn't have a lot of humans in c-sec while I was there, but the ones we had shared everything with anyone who'd listen. I think it's a human trait."

After that, Garrus sat quietly as Alitus looked through the photos.

"Oh, he got that habit from you," Alitus chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" Garrus asked.

"He has his thumb in his mouth," Alitus explained, a smile still on his face. "Your mother and I had the hardest time breaking you of that habit. You were always gnawing on your thumbs. We were afraid your thumb talons would never grow properly because of it."

"Dad, he's human. Completely human," Garrus explained. "There is no way he received any of my bad habits because there's nothing of me in him."

Alitus raised a brow plate at his son, shocked to hear him say such a thing. Through all of Jane's pregnancy, Garrus had vehemently defended his rights as the child's father. The little boy that Jane carried was Garrus' child, and he would brook no speculation otherwise. It was very odd to hear him now stating that the child was in no part his. While it was true—biologically the child was not his—it was still very odd to hear Garrus say it. Something was very wrong.

"He's gnawing on his thumb," Alitus reminded his own son, pointed toward the picture hovering in front of him as though Garrus could see it.

"A lot of human children suck their thumbs," Garrus explained. "It's completely normal."

"I bet it's a hard habit to break with them, too," Alitus shot back. "How do you take a thumb away? You can take a teether away, but you can't take a thumb away. It's attached." Again, he held his own digit up as explanation.

"Just because he's sucking his thumb in that ultrasound doesn't mean it'll become a habit," Garrus defending the unborn child. "And if it does, we'll deal with it then. Right now, I'm just happy he's healthy."

"We all are," Alitus agreed. "So how much longer does Jane have?"

"Nine weeks."

"So soon," Alitus gasped.

"Human pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, dad," Garrus explained.

"Are you prepared?" Alitus asked.

"We've bought everything we should need in the beginning, I've put the crib and bassinet together," Garrus explained. "We're as ready as we can be, I guess."

Alitus nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"It's hard to feel prepared when it's your first child. Your mother fretted about every small detail before Solana arrived."

"Nesting," Garrus nodded. "Jane has been doing that, as well. Making sure the overnight bag is packed for when we have to go to the hospital and double and triple checking the parenting and birthing books we purchased. She's been a little possessed."

"It's completely normal," Alitus explained, hoping to put his son at ease. Something was still bothering Garrus, he could tell. It was there in his son's gaze whenever their eyes met. If only he could find the right words that would allow Garrus to tell him what was bothering him. If only he could get his son to talk.

"I know," Garrus nodded. "I'm not too worried about it. I just try to help whenever she'll allow me to."

"She doesn't want your help?"

"Not always," Garrus shrugged. "She's very adamant that she's still able to do things on her own."

Alitus hummed in the back of his throat, acknowledging Garrus' comment and agreeing with it. Mialyn had been the same way, very stubborn. She refused to be coddled and looked after while she was pregnant. More than once, she shut him out of their room or sent him away because she felt he was smothering her and treating her like a weakling.

"And I'm sure she is," Alitus reminded Garrus. "Pregnancy doesn't make a female weak."

"But the baby's so large," Garrus began. "How can she even bend to tie her shoes with him in her way?"

"Females are stubborn," Alitus chuckled.

There was a pause in the call and Alitus watched as Garrus fidgeted. After a few more moments of silence, Alitus spoke up.

"Is there anything else going on? You seem pre-occupied."

"Sorry, dad," Garrus turned his attention back to the vid-call. "No, there's nothing else going on. I should get going, though."

"Alright," Alitus sighed, resigning to the fact that he wouldn't get any more information from Garrus over the vid-call. "I'm always a vid-call away if you need to talk."

"I know," Garrus smiled, but again his subharmonics were quiet and the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Thanks, dad."

Alitus bowed his head once, acknowledging Garrus before he said his good byes and disconnected from the call. He sat a moment after the call had disconnected, mulling over the conversation with Garrus while looking through the ultrasound pictures again. His grandson really was quite handsome, for a human, now they'd just have to get his thumb out of his mouth.

Garrus had Alitus worried. His subharmonics were off, when they were coming through at all, which was very odd for his son. Garrus was hot headed, known for not holding back. He was always chewing on boot leather because he'd put his foot in his mouth with some or other subharmonic snipe made toward a superior. If Garrus' subharmonics were screaming, Alitus knew he was okay and he'd make it out of whatever he was going through, but if they were quiet it was a sign to start worrying. Garrus' had been basically nonexistent. No doubt about it, something was wrong.

* * *

Eight hours later, Alitus stepped off the shuttle and was greeted by Admiral Hackett.

"Ambassador," The Admiral spoke, bowing his head in respect to Alitus' position within the turian government.

" Steven," Alitus acknowledged the Admiral's bow with a downward tilt of his own chin. "No need for titles."

"Of course," Hackett agreed. "How was the flight?"

"Long and boring, exactly as I expected it to be," Alitus answered as he fell into step next to Hackett. They crossed the short tarmac, heading toward the lone sky car parked nearby.

"You weren't given any trouble were you?" Hackett asked.

"Of course not," Alitus assured him. "The Admiral of the Fifth fleet approved my travel papers." Alitus chuckled. "Those poor sods were all but wetting themselves as they processed everything and made space on a shuttle for me."

Hackett's laugh joined Alitus' as they came to a halt next to the sky car.

"Alitus Vakarian this is Private First Class Nathan Page," Hackett introduced him to the young Marine standing next to the vehicle. "PFC Page, this is Ambassador Alitus Vakarian. Page will deliver you to your son's home."

The young man saluted Admiral Hackett before reaching for the carry-on bag slung over Alitus' shoulder. He handed the bag over slowly, finding it hard to relinquish what he knew was encased in the worn leather.

"I'll put this in the back seat so that it will be near you," PFC Page suggested in response to Alitus' reluctance to give the bag up.

"I will sit in the front seat," Alitus corrected the marine. "You are not my chauffeur."

"Aye aye, sir," Page answered. He set the leather bag gently on the front passenger seat before walking around to the driver's side of the sky car.

"It seems it's time for me to depart," Alitus said with a grin to Hackett.

"Indeed. Good luck," Hackett chuckled as he wished luck upon Alitus. "I think you're going to need it."

Alitus returned the older human's chuckle with a wry smile of his own before picking up his bag and taking his seat in the car.

* * *

"James and I are going grocery shopping. Is there anything you need me to pick up while we're out?"

Liara stilled in the overstuffed arm chair she was sitting in while reading over reports from her agents. She waited, barely breathing, trying to make herself smaller or invisible while Garrus spoke to Jane.

"No, thank you," Jane responded coldly.

"I noticed you were out of that tea you like," Garrus spoke again, his voice level and calm though his mandibles were flickering nervously. "I can stop at the local tea shop and pick up more."

"Whatever," Jane shrugged, not looking up from the data pad she was reading. "Do whatever you want."

Garrus cringed at Jane's cool, detached tone. He stood in the doorway, his mouth moving as though he were trying out different words, possibly trying to put together a sentence, before he finally gave up. With a barely audible click, his jaws snapped closed; mandibles falling into place against his face plates before he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

"Jane," Liara spoke quietly after she heard the front door close behind Garrus. "Don't you think you're being a little hard on Garrus?"

"No."

The one word was a gunshot in the room, clipped and loud compared to the quiet tone used by Liara.

"He made a mistake," Liara tried again.

"Indeed," Jane cut Liara off to agree.

"…Granted it was a very large mistake…"

"Heh!" Jane scoffed as she finally looked up from her data pad.

"…But how can you justify this sort of reaction?" Liara finally finished.

"He lied." Her tone made it clear she refused to accept any other reasoning for Garrus' behavior. She had tried and condemned him already.

"You've lied to him before," Liara pointed out, trying another tactic. Perhaps it wasn't the best line of reasoning, but it was the only idea Liara could come up with.

Jane had built a wall around herself. She'd begun building it soon after waking up in the med bay on the Normandy. At first, they'd all thought it was a coping mechanism for handling the questions fired at her by reporters and officials all demanding to know what happened on the Citadel. Now, though, watching the way Jane had cut Garrus out of her life, refusing to listen to him or spend any time near him, Liara wondered just how high those walls were. What were the criteria Jane used to allow people behind them? What had Garrus really done that caused Jane to react like this? What had caused this behavior?

Jane arched an eyebrow at Liara, her lips pursing as she stared at the asari. Her hard emerald glare bore into Liara's soft blue gaze; challenging her to continue down the path she'd started.

"Omega…" Liara spoke clearly but no louder than she had earlier. Jane's eyes flickered away from her own for a moment. Liara allowed her own gaze to follow where Jane's had gone though she couldn't find anything interesting in the trees and grass outside the patio door so she looked back to Jane.

"London," Liara spoke again. She'd found a chink in Jane's armor and she was going to continue to pound at it until she made a dent. At the mention of London, Jane's green eyes snapped back to Liara.

"What do you know about London?" Jane hissed.

"I'm the Shadow Broker," Liara bluffed. She knew very little about what happened on the ground in London as she'd been on the Normandy the whole time.

"The decisions I made during the London mission are not open for discussion," Jane snapped as she shoved herself up from the couch and marched out of the living room. Liara set the data pad she'd been using down on the coffee table and followed Jane.

"Why is that, Jane?" Liara questioned as she followed her down the hall. "Are you ashamed of the decisions you made?"

"Liara," Jane stopped short in the hallway, turning to face Liara as she spoke through clenched teeth, a sure sign she was fighting to hold her emotions at bay. She took a moment to calm herself before continuing normally. "London has nothing to do with this. He lied to me. He made a decision that could change our whole lives based off what he thinks _other people_ want him to do, not what _he_ wants to do."

"And how is this different than what you did during the war?"

Liara knew she was pushing Jane, but someone had to. There was something more going on in Jane's mind than just Garrus' lie. If that was all it was she would've blown up on him, maybe ignored him for a few hours, but eventually would've gotten past it and allowed him to explain himself. Jane was stalled at being angry, she hadn't gotten past it and she definitely hadn't allowed Garrus to explain himself.

"What did you just say?!" Jane gasped; shock evident on her face.

_Finally! _ Liara gave a mental fist pump as she watched the emotions playing across Jane's face. She was finally cracking the wall Jane had built around herself.

"You've lied to every member of your teams more times than any of us can count. The decisions you made were colored with the wants of others. Those decisions dictated the orders you gave and we always followed them," Liara hammered on now that she'd found a way to get under Jane's skin.

Jane gasped, the glare she'd fixed on Liara faltered as tears came to the surface making her eyes shine. She tore her gaze from Liara's as she turned her back on her friend. Her arms wrapped around her middle, hugging herself as her shoulders buckled. She quickened her pace down the hall, attempting to flee Liara.

"Don't you dare!" Liara called as she followed Jane down the hall. "You're **done** running, Jane."

"Liara," Jane begged as she got to her office door. "Leave me be, please?"

"No," Liara spoke forcefully, stepping up to box Jane in and stop her from fleeing again. "I think we need to talk."

"I don't want to," Jane shook her head. "I'm not ready."

"That's what you tell your therapist every week," Liara countered, shoving her shoulder against the office door, stopping Jane from slamming it shut. "When will you be ready to face what happened in London? When will you be ready to face that you made a decision that is directly responsible for killing every Geth in the universe? Legion fought for their lives, fought so they could continue to live and you killed them all."

It hurt to hear Jane cry as Liara brought up London and the battle for the Citadel. However, Liara now knew that they had to tackle that before they could go forward. Then Jane would be ready to face what had happened with Garrus.

"You brought Tali and Ashley with on the ground in London," Liara continued. "Tali died."

Jane's knees buckled as she sobbed, grabbing the edge of the desk in front of her as she fell to her knees on the floor. Liara followed her down, staying close but not touching her.

"Tali's dead," she whispered. "Legion is dead. Thane is dead. They were your team, they followed your orders, they trusted you, and now they're dead." Liara stopped to take a deep breath and gather her own emotions. She couldn't let Jane know that this was hurting her. Jane needed to face this and no one else seemed to be willing to make her. "Anderson is dead. The bullet pulled from his abdomen came from the gun they found with you."

"Stop," Jane begged her voice barely audible.

"No," Liara answered. "They trusted you. They believed in you. They accepted the decisions you made no matter what they thought because of the belief they had in you, and now they're gone. What do you have to say about that?"

Jane sat on the floor, holding herself as she cried, her face turned away from Liara.

"What will you tell their families? Will you give them the same answers you gave the officials? What will you tell their loved ones? Some stock answer thought up by a Public Relations representative employed by the Alliance?" Liara pressed further.

"I watched Tali die," Liara continued, her voice wavering with her own barely contained anguish. "I held her hand as she took her last breath. Chakwas couldn't save her. What do you have to say to me? What can you possibly say to make the pain any less?" Liara let the tears fall now. "Why did you have to take her? Why didn't you take me then? Why did you send for me after? She would still be alive if I had been with you the whole time."

"It was my choice to make," Jane whispered through her tears. "And I needed a tech specialist."

"Then why didn't you take EDI?" Liara demanded.

"EDI needed to stay with the ship. I needed her to stay with Joker and help with Sword," Jane tried to explain.

"And Garrus? Why couldn't you take Garrus? You'd taken him on every other mission," Liara continued to demand, crying now as she relived her final moments with Tali. "Why not London?"

Jane knelt on the ground in front of Liara, her face in her hands as she shook her head from side to side, refusing to answer the questions Liara asked.

"I'm waiting for an answer Jane," Liara prompted. "And I won't leave until I get one."

They sat like that for long moments. The tears running down Liara's cheeks; a silent twin to the sobs that wracked Jane's body. Finally, Jane broke the silence.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked, desperation in her voice. "I have no answer. I've never had an answer. Everyone wants to know why I did what I did, and I have no answer."

Liara sat quietly as she watched Jane continue to cry. She'd moved from kneeling to sitting on the floor, her back pressed against the back of her desk. She pressed her head against the wood, looking up toward the ceiling.

"I did what I thought was best," Jane continued, speaking slowly and quietly. "I chose who I thought would best help me. Tali and Ashley have been with me since the beginning. Though so have you and Garrus. I needed someone who could lay down a lot of damage, that's why I chose Ashley."

"But why Tali?" Liara asked, moving so she was sitting next to Jane now.

Jane didn't answer; instead she started to sob harder, her chin dropping to her chest as she covered her face again. Obviously, this was a very tender spot for Jane, but something that she had to come to terms with. Liara wrapped her arm around Jane's shoulders, pulling her close as Jane continued to cry.

"Jane," Liara prompted after Jane had calmed down again, her sobs slowing to sniffles. "You need to talk about this. I have the sinking feeling that this is part of why you're so angry with Garrus. Please, why Tali?"

"You'll hate me," Jane whispered into Liara's shirt. "I can't tell anyone."

"I won't hate you," Liara promised. "And you need to tell someone. You can't keep this bottled up."

"I couldn't bear to lose you," Jane spoke quietly. "Either of you. You're my best friend, Liara. He's my mate. I knew someone could be killed on that mission," Jane stopped and took a deep breath, straightening up so she wasn't leaning against Liara. She kept her eyes focused on her hands, her fingers twisted together tightly in her lap. "I hoped no one would die, I prayed no one would be hurt, but I'm a soldier, born and raised a soldier. The harsh reality in a situation like that is someone could and probably would die."

"But why Tali," Liara pressed.

"You and Garrus were out of the picture. I chose Ashley because she requested to be with me in London and she would be able to lay down a lot of fire power quickly. She's proficient with both a sniper rifle and an assault rifle. All I needed was a tech expert to round out the group. That left EDI or Tali. I needed EDI to stay with the ship and help Joker if Sword was going to have any chance of pulling off the battle up there and keeping the Crucible safe. All that left me was Tali," Jane yanked her hands apart, throwing them out and then down onto her knees.

"I hated having to chose," Jane's words were warped by an escaping sob. "Tali was the baby sister I never had. I sent her back as soon as I realized she'd been injured. Ashley wasn't going to make the run to the beam either. I had no idea what that run would entail which is why I had you and James rendezvous with me."

They sat quietly as Jane's confession sunk in. Liara didn't know what to say. On one hand she was shocked that the decision had been one made by such a simple process of elimination, on the other she knew that was the only way Jane could've come to such a decision.

"I hate that damn war!" Jane's shout broke the silence, causing Liara to jump next to her. "I hate what it turned me into. I hate that that's all I'll be remembered for." Jane continued to shout to the walls. "I hate that I'll only be known as the Savior of the Galaxy. What I'm doing now; my attempts to help rebuild what was lost, every program I've tried to put in place, every suggestion I make. The only reason they're even considered is because they came from me. Why didn't I die that day? I wish I'd died that day," Jane's tirade ended on another sob as she crumpled and Liara leaned over quickly, wrapping her arms around Jane's shoulders, pulling the sobbing woman into her embrace.

"Why wouldn't they just let me die?" Jane sobbed against Liara's shoulder. "Why was I the one Miranda brought back? Why was I the one that mattered? I'm nobody. I'm just a Navy brat who had nothing better to do when she came of age so she joined the Alliance. I don't deserve the fame or medals. I did nothing special but everyone says I did. I didn't save everyone. I failed!"

"Shh," Liara cradled Jane, rocking her as she rubbed her back. "You didn't fail, Jane."

"Yes, I did!" Jane cried. "I failed over and over again. I failed Kaidan on Virmire, Mordin on Tuchanka, Thane on the Citadel, Legion on Rannoch and then again in London when I killed his entire race. But what was I supposed to do?" she gasped, sobbing harder against Liara as she poured out the pain she'd been carrying for too many years. "I had choices. I could have controlled the reapers, but then I would've been no different than them. I could've destroyed all synthetic life in the galaxy, guaranteeing the reapers would be gone. Or I could have melded my organic DNA with synthetic programming across the galaxy, making us all organic and synthetic. And I chose to destroy all synthetics…"

"Why?" Liara prompted.

"Because I'm selfish," Jane sobbed.

"You're not selfish," Liara contradicted her quickly. "You saved us all, that's not selfish."

"That's not why I did it!" Jane cried. "It was the only option that gave me a slim chance of coming back to Garrus. I didn't choose to destroy them because I wanted to save the galaxy. In that moment, when I fired the Catalyst, the only thought in my mind was Garrus. I didn't want to die; I wanted to come back to him. It was selfish!"

Liara held Jane as she cried. She kept chanting that she was selfish.

"I didn't deserve to survive," Jane whispered as she clutched Liara's soaked shirt in her fist, clinging to her friend.

"Yes, you did," Liara answered quietly as she ran her hand over Jane's hair and back, trying to soothe her. "Yes, you did."

"I made so many mistakes," Jane mumbled, burying her face against Liara as she continued to cry.

"We all make mistakes," Liara reminded Jane.

"But I've made so many," Jane argued. "And now," Jane stopped to sniffle. Reaching her arm over her head she patted her hand along the desk top until she knocked a box of tissues down into her lap. She pulled one free of the box and wiped at her eyes as she sat up. "Now I've really screwed up."

"How so?"

"He's taken this position because everyone wants him to. Everyone, including me," Jane explained. "After Callus' call, Garrus and I talked about this decision. He told me it was something he used to dream about when he was a little boy and I encouraged him to go for it. I told him he would make a great leader."

"And he will," Liara agreed.

"But is that what_ he _wants? Or is he doing it because he thinks I ordered him to do it? Is he taking this position because he thinks he has to?" Jane's lips trembled as another wave of tears threatened to crash over her. "And if he takes it and fails will he blame me? Is this another bad decision I made? Another bad order I've given?"

"Jane," Liara began, choosing her words carefully. "If Garrus really didn't want to be Primarch he wouldn't take the position. Encouraging him to do something he has dreamed about is not the same as giving an order."

"How do you know?" Jane asked. "I mean, that's what I thought too but then he gave me that line about how he had to take it or his father would be ashamed."

"His father being ashamed of him has never stopped him before," Liara reminded Jane.

"This is a little bigger than leaving Citadel Security to help me chase down Saren or rejoining Spectre training," Jane shot back.

"True," Liara agreed. "But I have faith that Garrus wouldn't choose this unless he really wanted it. Deep down, I think he does really want it, he just wishes it had come at a different time."

Jane gave a short laugh but said nothing else in response to Liara's mention of the timing.

"He's worried about you and the baby," Liara reminded Jane.

"I know," Jane nodded her agreement. "I wish he wouldn't worry so much, though."

Liara laughed at that.

"I don't think that's possible," She chuckled. "It's a well known fact that fathers-to-be always worry about their mates and their unborn children."

"Do you think Aethyta worried about you and Benezia?" Jane asked.

"I know for a fact that she did. My dad was worse than Garrus," Liara smiled.

"How can you be so sure?" Jane was skeptical.

"I'm the Shadow Broker, remember?" Liara smirked.

"That's your answer to everything," Jane smiled back.

Liara pushed herself up to standing and was reaching a hand down to help Jane up just as someone knocked at the front door.

"I'll get it," Liara offered as she helped Jane to her feet. "You just sit down and relax for a bit."

"Liara," Jane warned.

"What? Can't a friend suggest her best friend relax after such an emotionally grueling ordeal?" Liara asked as she held her hands up to ward off Jane's glare as she backed out of the office. "I swear this has nothing to do with you being pregnant."

Liara was smiling as she headed down the hall way and toward the front door. She felt victorious that she'd helped Jane to open up about London. Recovery would be a long road, but at least Jane had finally taken the first step. Plus, Liara now had a better understanding as to why Jane was so upset with Garrus' actions.

* * *

Alitus shifted his weight from one foot to the other while he waited for someone to answer his knock. Perhaps he should've called ahead and let them know he was on his way. Maybe a surprise visit wasn't such a good idea after all. He was about to pick up his bag and start walking back toward London when the door opened. A young asari stood in the doorway, her gaze traveled from the top of his fringe to the tips of his boots and then back again before her lips parted into a smile.

"Hello Ambassador Vakarian," she greeted him.

"Good day," his mandibles spread in a turian version of a smile. "I know this is rather sudden, but are my son and his mate home?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Liara gasped, stepping aside and ushering him in. "Come on in! I shouldn't have kept you standing on the porch. Sadly, Garrus is not home, but Jane is."

"One out of two isn't bad," Alitus joked as he stepped into their home.

He remembered when Garrus had shown him the house almost a year earlier. It had been run down, beaten by the war that had come so close to it. He hadn't thought that it would be ready for them to move into for quite a while.

"Jane is in the office," Liara supplied. "If you'd like, I'll take your bags and you can go visit with her. Garrus should be home soon."

"Thank you," Alitus said as he relinquished his duffle bag and carry-on before heading toward the hall way which he hoped would lead him to the office.

"Second door on the right," Liara called after him.

He turned to her, nodding his thanks for her directions before continuing on his way. He could hear her before he reached the office; the occasional sniffle followed by the honk of her blowing her nose. Her tears scented the air like a spring rain; fresh and sweet. What had caused her to cry? Perhaps it was something as simple as the pregnancy. He knocked against the door frame of the office doorway and waited for her to look up from the old picture frame she held in her hands.

"Oh!" Jane gasped, pushing the desk chair back so she could stand. She rounded the desk with a gasp, walking over to him and holding her hand out for a hand shake. "I didn't know you were coming, Alitus."

"I didn't know, either," he smiled, accepting her hand before pulling her close and leaning down to press his forehead to hers. "At least not until I spoke to Garrus this morning. I realized, while we were talking, that I hadn't seen either of you in almost a year, and I decided it was time to visit."

"It's wonderful to have you," Jane smiled, though it didn't quite make it to her eyes.

"Thank you, you're quite gracious," Alitus returned her smile. Though she couldn't hear them, his subharmonics hummed comforting tones in hopes to calm the tears that were still evident in her eyes.

"I don't mean to be insensitive," he spoke as he pulled away from their embrace. "But why are you crying?"

"Oh," Jane looked away, her fingers twisting together as she fidgeted. Alitus watched her as she turned away from him and walked back around the desk to where she'd set the picture frame. "It's nothing in particular. I was just reminiscing and my emotions got the better of me."

Even without subharmonics to give her away, Alitus knew she wasn't telling the whole truth. There was more that she wasn't telling him, though he wouldn't push her. He followed her to the desk and she turned the picture frame to show him the photo she had been admiring. What he saw almost sent him to his knees. Alitus gasped, his mandibles going slack as his subharmonics let out an uncontrolled scream. He knew the man in that picture. It may have been many years since he'd seen that face but he knew that man.

"Who is that?" Alitus asked on a whisper, tapping a talon against the glass protecting the old photograph.

"My parents," Jane explained. "And the baby is me."

"Your father?" Alitus gasped, putting a hand on the desk to steady himself as he grappled for a chair to sit down.

"Alitus, are you okay?" Jane asked putting a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

"Oh, that is a full question," he sighed, hoping he got the human idiom correct in his state.

"Full?...Oh, you mean a loaded question?" Jane clarified.

"Yes," Alitus sat back in his chair before beckoning for Jane to hand him the picture. "Would you like a story, Jane?"

"Will it explain why you look like you just saw a spirit?" Jane countered.

"I did just see a Spirit," Alitus said before tapping his talon against the glass again. "That man saved my life thirty one years ago."

"Thirty one years ago?" Jane gawked. "But that was…"

"Yes, that was during the occupation of Shanxi," Alitus explained. "His name is Jericho."

Jane gasped, her hand trembling as she covered her mouth with it. How could he know her father's name? She'd never told him. She barely ever talked about her father. He'd died when she was a baby, she didn't even remember him. Oh, sure, she knew what he looked like from pictures and she knew that she had his eyes and stubbornness because of the stories her mother told, but she had no memories of him.

"He was captured attempting to infiltrate our base during the Shanxi siege," Alitus continued, never taking his eyes off the picture. He ran the pad of one finger down the edge of the frame as he told his story. "He was interrogated, though he said nothing, and then he was thrown into a cell. I was his guard."

Jane stared as Alitus explained how her father had tried to befriend him.

"He had this picture in his pocket, it was of a small child," Alitus looked up from the frame then, his gaze catching hers. "It was you. He would spend hours staring at it, he explained that your birthday was only a few months away and how he hoped he'd be home in time to celebrate it with you."

Jane's chin wobbled, her lips trembling as she tried to control the newest wave of emotion flooding her.

"He never made it," she whispered.

"No," Alitus shook his head, looking back down at the picture. "I'm so sorry, Jane. It's my fault he never made it. He could've, he was free, but I got shot and he came back for me." Alitus could feel the volume of his subharmonics rising as he relived the memory. "I told him to run. I screamed at him to run. We were overrun by Batarian raiders; bastards couldn't resist the chance to catch us unprotected because of that stupid war—incident—I don't care what they title it now, it was a war then."

Jane pulled her chair closer to his, reaching over and wrapping her fingers around his talons; stopping them from worrying the fabric of his pants.

"Spirits," He looked away from her. "I haven't talked about this in years. The last time was when I gave my report. Oh sure, people have asked about the rumors, but I never recounted the whole story. When the alarms went off signaling the attack I released him. No one would notice him fleeing through the chaos. I told him how to get out and gave him my side arm. Solana is about your age. I couldn't bear the thought of her growing up without her father because of this stupid war. I wouldn't have the guilt of some other little girl growing up without hers on my conscious if I could do something about it. He was just barely out of the room when the Batarians came through the other door. I tried to hold them off, hoping he'd get out and make it back to the Alliance, but one of them got a lucky shot; nailed me in between the armor plates. I don't know what made him come back, maybe I shouted or somehow made it known that I was hurt. All I know is suddenly he was next to me tearing open pockets in my armor and attempting to apply medi gel and a bandage. He didn't even hear the Batarian that snuck up behind him and shot him."

Alitus stopped, looking up from the picture and into Jane's forest green eyes.

"You have his eyes," he sighed. "They were so green, almost unnaturally so."

"Unnatural for a turian," Jane countered before sniffling and reaching for the box of tissues that were still on the floor from earlier.

"I've seen many humans in my life," Alitus reminded her. "It seems quite unusual for them as well." He looked back at the picture he still held. "Though you have your mother's hair."

Jane chuckled as she nodded then grabbed a section of her hair. "Yes, this mop came from her."

"I think it's quite beautiful, and again, very unique. That color," Alitus admired her locks. "Unusual again."

"Red heads seem to be rare now, though that was not the case 100 years ago," Jane responded.

"Where is your mother? She's in uniform in this picture. Is she still serving?" Alitus asked, hoping to change the subject to one that was happier.

"No," Jane shook her head. "She died during the war."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Alitus vocalized what his subharmonics were already saying. "Do you know what happened?"

"She captained the Orizaba," Jane said knowing that anyone who'd been alive during the war knew what happened to the Orizaba. Her mother's tale was spoken like a legend. The way she captained the ship, fighting right to the very end when they rammed their disabled ship into the firing chamber of an attacking Reaper causing them both to explode. Jane's head snapped around to stare at Alitus as his subharmonics screamed loud enough even she could hear them.

"Hannah?" he gasped, staring down at the picture in his hands. "No! This can't be."

He shook his head, staring between Jane and the picture.

"Alitus?" Jane asked, concern overshadowing the pain she felt at her most recent familial loss.

"No!"

He shook his head in denial as he stared at the woman in the picture. Hannah had spoken of a daughter fighting in London, but who would've thought her daughter would be Commander Jane Shepard? She'd railed against being up there guarding the Crucible while her daughter was fighting for her life. Then she'd given her life and her ship to protect his ship and crew.

"Alitus?" Jane laid her hand on his forearm as she spoke his name again, suddenly much closer to him as she crouched next to his chair. "Are you alright?"

"Jane," He whispered. "It would seem I owe you much more than I can ever repay."

"I don't understand."

"You've lost both your parents because of me," he explained. "I captained the Tanilus during that fight. Your mother's last attack saved my ship and my crew. She is a hero. Her last wish was for me to tell her daughter that she was sorry and that she loves you."

* * *

Garrus paused outside their office door, stunned to see his father hunched over in his chair, his hands holding Jane's face as he pressed his forehead against hers. His father's subharmonics were vibrating loudly with grief and guilt as he vowed to protect Jane for the rest of his life. She would be one of his; he would be there for her as a parent was expected to be.

"Forgive me, Jane," his father asked. "I have stolen both your parents. I owe you a debt I cannot repay."

"You owe me nothing," she whispered back, her own hand coming up to gently stroke his father's mandible.

"It is a custom, an old one and mostly only enforced between turians," his father explained. "If a turian child lost his or her clan, or in this case parents, to another clan—be it in battle or for whatever reason—the surviving clan would raise that child as their own. You're grown and I know I do not need to raise you; however I still owe you this debt. Your parents died to protect me, neither knew what the other had done. Your father had every right to leave me to my fate thirty one years ago…"

"I'm very glad he didn't," Jane interrupted as her eyes cut over to Garrus'. "If he had, I never would've met Garrus."

Garrus' heart skipped a beat as their eyes met for the first time in three days. Was that a small smile tugging her lips up? He fought to catch his breath as hope clenched his chest that she may be willing to listen to him and give him a chance to explain his actions.

"…And your mother chose to sacrifice herself and her crew for me and mine," Alitus finished.

"She died a soldier," Jane reminded him.

"She died a hero," Alitus corrected. "Let me be here for you," he begged. "Accept this honor. Let my clan protect you."

"I accept only because you're so adamant," Jane sighed. Garrus watched as she pressed her forehead against his father's with more pressure, something he knew she did when she was trying to drill home what she was saying.

"But you still owe me nothing."


End file.
